By: Brayden Peters
BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Brockport Golden Eagles hockey team's losing skid increased to five games after falling to the #4 ranked Geneseo Ice Knights 7-2. This came after slow starts to each period for Brockport that Geneseo took advantage of.
"First periods at home have not been great," Brockport head coach Brian Dickinson said. "Tonight was another one. We got to find a way to bring some juice at the start of games and get yourself mentally and physically into the contest. And when you play a team like Geneseo that plays so well without the puck, you got to really be focused on your man, positioning, stick on puck, stick in lanes and you can't let them jump out 2-0 pretty quick."
Six out of the Ice Knights' seven goals came in the first 10 minutes of each frame.
Golden Eagles freshman forward Joseph Nikac recorded a team-high two points after scoring once and picking up an assist. Fifth year defenseman Mitchell Haight was the only other Golden Eagle to record a point, as he scored a goal as well.
Junior Cole Hudson got the start in between the pipes for Brockport after earning UCHC Goalie of the Week honors on Monday. He made 33 saves for a .825 save percentage.
Geneseo outshot the Golden Eagles 40-to-21 in the contest.
The Ice Knights got out to a very quick start to open up the first period. With under 16 minutes left in the frame, senior forward Zach Purcell received a feed from sophomore forward Filip Wiberg and buried a wrist shot into the top right corner of the cage. Seconds later, freshman forward Jack McDonald moved his way to the net and deked out Hudson to beat him blocker side with a backhand shot.
Geneseo's offense continued to put pressure on Brockport as they outshot the Golden Eagles 10-to-four halfway through the frame.
Brockport would cut the lead to 2-1 with 8:28 left in the period thanks to Nikac. He drove down the right wing and sniped the top right corner of the net on a wrist shot. The Golden Eagles used that momentum to create more scoring chances, but Geneseo would come away with one more goal before the end of the period. Freshman forward Payne Gatewood picked up the loose puck off a deflection and found the right side of the net on a wrist shot.
At the end of the frame, the Ice Knights outshot Brockport 19-to-10.
"I think we just got to get pucks on net and trust our skill," Nikac said. "We got the guys to the puck in the net and we just got to get pucks to the net."
Just like the first period, Geneseo got out to a quick start in the second period. Junior forward Alex Dameski got an edge on sophomore defenseman Victor Malzahn, did two dekes and sniped a wrist shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Although the Ice Knights would continue to ride their wave of momentum for most of the period, Brockport would slice the lead to 4-2 with under seven minutes left. Haight rifled a wrist shot past senior goalie Adam Harris and into the top left corner of the net while he was screened. Brockport turned things up a notch the rest of the way although they weren't able to score again before the end of the frame.
"I like how we responded after they scored that fourth goal, we didn't give up, you know, we're still in the game," Haight said. "I think it just came down to being more physical, forechecking hard and being relentless on their defensemen. They'll turn pucks over if you pressure them enough."
At the end of the period, both teams were tied in shots on goal in the frame with nine apiece.
The Golden Eagles were unable to build off of their late momentum in the second period to start the third frame. With under 18 minutes left in the period, senior forward Cooper Fensterstock cut to the cage and redirected a pass that squeezed by Hudson and into the net.
Geneseo would start to pour it on as two straight goals from Wiberg with under eight minutes left in the game helped seal its the 7-2 victory. Brockport struggled to generate many scoring chances in the period.
In the frame, the Ice Knights outshot the Golden Eagles 12-to-two.
Brockport dropped to 4-14-2 with the loss and are still in last in the UCHC. As for Geneseo, the win improved its record to 17-2-1 and remain in first in the conference.
The Golden Eagles will finish the two-game series against the Ice Knights in Geneseo today. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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