Manhattanville won the little battles Saturday on the way to a 7-2 victory over league foe RIT, the first in the history of the Valiant program.
“Our guys worked hard and won a lot of the battles,” said Manhattanville coach Keith Levinthal. “It’s a great win for the program, but it is still only a win in December. Until someone beats RIT in March, they will reign supreme.”
The Valiants solidified their lead midway through the second period with three straight power-play goals. These goals allowed Manhattanville to build a 5-1 lead that proved insurmountable for RIT, and kept the Valiants unbeaten at home this season.
For the first of those goals, an RIT forechecker got caught behind the Manhattanville net while attempting to kill off the penalty. The Valiants were able to turn the puck up ice quickly, and charged into the Tiger zone with an odd-man rush. Dan Law finished off the play with a goal at 7:28 to build the Manhattanville lead to 3-2.
Skating four-on-four three minutes later, RIT took two more penalties in rapid succession. Manhattanville took advantage of both, scoring twice in just over a 1:30 span. Galloway Carroll tallied the first goal, while Mike Camarinos scored from almost the same spot for the second.
“Manhattanville played a great game and did a lot of things very well,” said RIT coach Wayne Wilson. “I thought they played like men, and we really didn’t show up that way. We tried to be too cute.”
The Valiants drew first blood 2:25 into the game. Skating four-on-four, Manhattanville took advantage of the extra space on the ice. Ray [nl]Williams streaked past the lone RIT defender and was able to put the puck past Tiger netminder Tyler Euverman.
Another goal by Valiant Jason Kenyon late in the period, also off a breakaway, gave Manhattanville a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
RIT got on to the board five minutes into the second period with a power-play goal. Mike Bournazakis held the puck near the right point. He edged towards the top of the slot, and sent a wrist shot through a crowd of skaters. The puck ricocheted off a Manhattanville player, off linemate Sam Hill’s stick, and past Valiant netminder Jay Chrapala for the goal.
“This win gives us a lot from a confidence standpoint,” said Levinthal. “We’ve beaten a lot of good teams, but we’ve never waxed a good team before.”
Manhattanville sandwiched two goals around an RIT tally in the third period. But the Tigers could never really get anything going to seriously challenge the Valiant lead.
