WSOU

Recap: Seton Hall Men's Hockey Remains Undefeated in 4-2 Victory Over Monmouth

Date: October 31, 2021

By: Connor Hester

Seton Hall men's hockey players celebrate on the ice during a game.

Seton Hall Hockey

The Seton Hall Pirates men’s hockey team (7-0-0) took down the Monmouth Hawks (1-4-0) Saturday night at Richard J. Codey Arena in CSCHC Independence division play. Coming off a dominant 9-1 victory over cross town rival NJIT, the Pirates were buzzing and were hoping to continue their incredible season. 

Early in the game, the Pirates struggled to establish their presence on the ice, allowing Monmouth to dictate play for the first 10 minutes of the period. With 8:53 remaining in the opening frame, Seton Hall forward Thomas Healy took a minor boarding penalty that gave the Hawks a powerplay opportunity. 35 seconds later, Greg Wanamaker made it a 1-0 game for Monmouth, putting the Pirates behind for the first time all season. 

Less than a minute after lengthy four-on-four, the Pirates were able to find the back of the net to tie the game up at one apiece on a Luke Kirkowski wrist shot goal with 3:07 remaining in the period, giving him his third goal in as many games.

A couple minutes later, defenseman Cam Toussaint got the puck for the Pirates and led the rush, deking through defenders on his way to lighting the lamp to give the Pirates a 2-1 lead with 59 seconds left to go in the first. 

The Pirates got off to a good start in the second, getting a powerplay opportunity 1:25 into the period, however they were unable to extend their lead. Monmouth had a solid scoring opportunity with 7:30 remaining in the second, but Joey Yutsus stood on his head and turned away a flurry of shots to keep the Pirates ahead.

The Pirates were able to build on this momentum as John Anselmo found the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-1. 

The third period got off to a fast-paced start, with six minutes of back-and-forth hockey before a whistle was finally blown. Monmouth was able to capitalize from the energy of the game and found the back of the net with 13:04 remaining as Aidan Kroncke cut into the Pirates lead to make it a 3-2 game.

However, the Pirates were able to respond just 11 seconds later as Tyler Fearon lit the lamp as the Pirates regained their two-goal lead, now up 4-2 with 12:53 remaining. 

The Pirates were able to hold onto their lead and eventually win the game thanks in large part to the outstanding performance in net from the freshman netminder in Yutsus, making his first collegiate start.

In his debut, the young goaltender faced 50 shots, turning away 48 of them to lead the Pirates to the win to remain undefeated. Yutsus faced 20 shots in both the second and third periods but stayed solid between the pipes allowing the Pirates to keep their unbeaten record intact. 

The Pirates return to action Friday Nov. 5, when they play host to Princeton at Richard J. Codey Arena once again in West Orange, N.J. Puck drop is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. 

Connor Hester can be reached at connor.hester@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports, WSOU

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