Ice Knights roll in weekend sweep of Chatham University

Photo courtesy of Geneseo Knights

After a resilient road sweep, the Geneseo Ice Knights erased an early deficit to take down Chatham University in back-to-back wins, fueled by clutch goals and strong plays in net as they surged into second place in the UCHC.

Coming into Friday’s road contest against Chatham University, the Geneseo Ice Knights were sitting at an 11-6-1 record. While the Knights' record is nothing to scoff at, for a team that finished with just five losses altogether last season, it felt as though Geneseo was yet to hit its stride. Fortunately for the defending United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) champions, there’s no better stride than one in the late season. This past weekend, Geneseo was able to down the Chatham Cougars in a tight 3-2 matchup on Friday, Jan. 30, then follow that up with another impressive 4-2 victory the following night. 

The opening period of Friday night’s game was a rocky one to say the least. Chatham quickly shot out to a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Cougars netted these two goals in just a matter of minutes, as the Knights found themselves in an uphill battle from the beginning of the game. Despite the Cougars’ lead, shots were evened up at 10 apiece when the buzzer sounded at the conclusion of the first period—a hopeful sign that indicated this game was far from over. 

Geneseo kept pushing to get on the board in the second period, and the floodgates opened when junior winger Luke Panchisin was able to light the lamp for his sixth goal of the season. While the period would come to a close with the Knights still trailing, momentum seemed to have completely flipped as the Knights appeared to be on the prowl. 

Their relentlessness would be rewarded at 6:41 of the third period, as junior forward Carter Diceman shovelled one in a valiant netfront effort. Senior forward Alex Dameski and junior defenseman Sean Melso recorded the assist on the crucial goal. Later on in the third period, the Ice Knights would not be content with heading to overtime, as freshman forward Jackson Stimple would score a monumental goal to give Geneseo a 3-2 lead. 

Stimple’s tally would go on to be the game winner as the Knights' exhilarating comeback pushed their season record to 12-6-1. Alex Dameski’s two points have him up to 28 on the season, a total that leads the entire UCHC conference. Junior Goalie Jacob Torgner’s victory in the crease was his ninth win of the campaign. However, these two spectacular athletes were not done putting on a show. 

The following afternoon's game started much more positively, with Alex Dameski sniping one past the Cougars goaltender to give the Knights an early lead. Chatham would answer back in the closing minutes to tie the game at 1-1 as they managed to outshoot Geneseo 14-11 in the opening period. 

The second period was a completely different story, as the Knights would not be denied. The action started with Carter Diceman beating the goalie on the power play. Geneseo would continue to percolate on the power play as Alex Dameski doubled down and found the back of the net to push the lead to 3-1. 

The Cougars showed some fight and assertiveness in the third as they managed to cut the lead to one with a goal at 8:33 of the third period. Thankfully, Carter Diceman would allow every Ice Knight to take a deep breath as he slammed the door shut on the Cougars with an empty net goal, his second of the game and third of the weekend. The sweep was complete, and now the Knights are sitting at 13-6-1, which is good for second in the UCHC conference standings. 

The standout performers of the weekend were undoubtedly forwards Alex Dameski, Carter Diceman, and goaltender Jacob Torgner. The dynamic duo combined for six points over the two games, with both forwards in the top five of goalscoring in the UCHC with 16 and 10, respectively. Torgner was no slouch either, picking up two wins and recording a .931 and .938 save percentage in consecutive wins. Geneseo will head to Oswego on Saturday, Feb. 7, for a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Lakers.