Polar Bearcats Refine Game – Upend Duquesne 7-1
The Saint Vincent squad traveled to Duquesne in a non-CHE contest and walked away with a solid 7-1 win on Friday, October 16. The only blemish came on a lost face when the SVC center failed to hold his counterpart who laced a wrist shot by goaltender Owen Burmeister. Outside giving up a few odd-man breaks, the Polar Bearcats held control for most of the contest. Outside some Duquesne power plays, the home team never really threatened. Zone time, puck possession, lane coverage and net drives delivered the entire evening as SVC ended each period up by 2-0, 3-0 and 2-1 leading to the 7-1 final. SVC outshot the Dukes 52 to 18 as Owen Burmeister recorded his first win in the nets for the 2026-2027 season.
Freshman Nino Dipietro opened the scoring with an unassisted rush at 7:07 followed by Mats Martz’ first collegiate goal (Williams and Vecchio). It did not take long for SVC to put the game away when it scored three times in the second over a 10 minute span. Alex Schall converted on a pass from Nate Loughner after a nice keep along the wall by Kaleb Trice. Shigo got his third when Schall and Matty Smith teamed on the set up, and when DiPietro notched his second on a power play from Shigo and Loughner, it was pretty much over. Zach Motil stripped a puck from a Duke at center ice and put a shot on goal on a partial breakaway. Although the Duquesne net minder made the initial stop, he failed to control the rebound and Mats Martz smartly trailed Motil, grabbed the rebound and went to his backhand as he slid the puck into the net. It was 6-0 when an odd series of penalties created a series of short handed combinations for each team and the lost face off play spoiled Burmeister’s shutout bid with 5:37 remaining. Schall closed the scoring with a power play goal on a nice face off win in the Duquesne zone by Tyler Shigo who gained possession and slid a pass to Schall who placed his wrist shot in tech net on the opposite side.
Observations: It was a solid win. In many ways the team had a much better performance than its 10-1 upstage over Slippery Rock the week before. The power play work was impressive combining sharp puck movement with cycles, net front presence, and smart seam movement to support puck possession. The defense did its part and except for a few odd man breaks on questionable pinches it was seldom challenged. There were more than several shots that went high or wide that with better placement would have probably added to the score sheet.
Next Up: A series you don’t want to miss. Back to back home games against Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday night October 23 and 24. Face off is 7:30 PM for each game. This is the first ever meeting between the two schools. Last year WMU was ranked 28’th nationally in ACHA D3 with a record of 16-8-0.
Homecoming Fans Not Disappointed as SVC dominates Slippery Rock with a 10-1 Win
It was Green and Gold covering the Slippery Rock Pride in the home opener with a solid 10-1 victory. With the ice barely dry, Nate Loughner gave the fans an early opportunity to cheer when Tyler Shigo and Dominik Costantino set him up with the opportunity. With credit, SRU settled and started trading zone time when SVC unlaced the Slippery Rock skates with three goals in little more than three minutes. Shigo (Schall and Loughner) was follow by two quickies from Chase Kushner (Dipietro and Motil on the first and Dipietro and Louie Amatucci on the second). The quick strikes sent the starting SRU goaltender to his bench but as the game progressed, his relief in fact got little relief.
Saint Vincent routinely out paced Slippery Rock in the second twenty as Treager notched his second set up by Mats Martz and Joe Vecchio, and then another goal by Loughner from Aiden Morando and Tyler Shigo. SRU was able to solve Vinney Amatucci to draw the SVC lead down to 6-1, but Chase Kushner completed the team’s first hat trick of the year with 1:01 left in the second when Aiden Morando moved the puck to Nick Crupie who made a smart pass to Kushner who completed the play. To give the visitors credit, they held the SVC lead to a 5 goal margin for most of the period, but the Pride collapsed surrendering 3 goals to Schall (Lougner and Louie Amatucci), Dipietro (Kushner) and Dipietro again (Louie Amatucci and Kushner) at 4:33, 4:19, and 4:05. Could be a team record. At the end, SVC held a 47 to 29 shot advantage as Amatucci coasted to his third win of the year in the net.
Can this team play better? Quite frankly, yes. Better support for attacking players, avoiding back passes in the offensive zone, and going wide and waiting for help will sustain better attack options than trying to drive through three defenders. And it still scored ten. But the pursuit of a National ranking will require attention to these details. In the meantime, CHE should be on notice.
In the weeds: Alex Schall has a 60% shooting percentage. Matts Martz, Nick Crupie, and Aiden Morando all notched the first points of their SVC careers. Defenseman Aaron Varrati led all players with a +6 followed by Louie Amatucci with a +5. The win gives SVC a 12-6-0 record all time against “The Rock”.
Next up, a non-league away game against Duquesne on Friday, October 16. Face off at the Alpha Ice Center in Harmarville will be 9:50 PM. The game will count fr ACHA rankings but not in the CHE standings. Following the game the team will take a short fall break until it meets Western Michigan in a back to back on Friday and Saturday October 23 and 24. Both games start at 7:30 PM. It will be a huge two game set for SVC as it has the opportunity to be challenged outside College Hockey East.
Movie Script Ending as SVC Takes Kent State in Overtime 4-3
Mighty Ducks move over. You could not write an ending to a sports film better than what happened to the SVC Icers in its thrilling 4-3 overtime road win at Kent State. As with its opener with Akron, SVC and KSU played a cautious physical opening first few shifts. Then from nowhere, Zach Motil received a pass from Nino Dipietro deep in the Golden Eagle zone and deftly made the shot to give SVC an early lead. It instantly tilted the white sheet. For the remainder of the period, SVC buzzed the home goalkeeper with 21 shots while Vinny Amatucci easily turned aside long range and perimeter attempt by KSU. Things looked up when SVC was to start the second with a power play. But in the case, it was a power failure. The team never really established any zone presence and fumbled on any sense of an attack. Momentum changed. Kent State started to clog the middle and lulled the Polar. Bearcats into a slumber. The visitors did not get a shot on goal until 13:50, and at one point Kent had a 9-1 shot advantage and popped in a power play goal at 10:17. Although Saint Vincent ended the middle 20 with a 19-12 shot advantage, it did not feel that way. The third started brutally. The hits came hard and heavy and KSU took the game away with puck support, gap control. tying up SVC sticks and neutralizing any long pass plays. The visitors kept looking for the big lazy break. Instead as a power play expired, Kent went ahead 2-1 at the 7:30 mark and with an SVC squad in disarray converted on another breakaway away at 6:54. A two goal lead seemed insurmountable. Kent was in complete control. An SVC timeout, a Kent penalty and Alex Schall started the comeback. #54 scored on one of his patent like goals. Get lost, find an open seem, and place a wrist shot into a seemingly impossible location. Cudos to Loughner and Belli for the set up. So you’re telling me there’s a chance. One in a million, but yes. With playoff and ranking implications at stake, Saint Vincent pulled Vinny Amatucci and went to work. It was nail biting. Kent fought hard. Their goalie was sharp. But at 21 seconds, Sam Traeger ripped a shot that completely handcuffed the KSU goalie and Nate Loughner finally converted on his 10’th shot of the game. Oh my oh my! Overtime! But there was still drama.
At the 20 minute mark, the refs assessed as penalty to SVC for hooking. They would start OT killing a deadly 4:3 power play. The refs lost the number of the SVC player who allegedly committed the infraction and asked Coach Martz to sit someone. Crupie took one for the team and sat the two minutes. SVC made the kill. At the 2:24 mark, Tyler Shigo found himself streaking down the left side on Kent State zone. He had a step and speed and was just ready to turn the corner behind the defenseman when he was tripped. Power play SVC. It took 58 seconds. Dipietro from Belli and Williams. The Kent State You Tube broadcast abruptly stopped with a simple Saint Vincent wins 4-3. A film editor could not have found a more fitting way to close a movie. Salvation comes in many ways. This day may have saved a season. Saint Vincent out shot Kent 54 to 32. It also outscored them 4-3. Oh, wait, you know that!
Homecoming is this weekend. It is also the home opener Friday night at 7:30 against Slippery Rock. As Mike Lange would have said, “Shame on you for six weeks” for missing this one!
Polar Bearcats Rip the Zips
In what may be a statement of bad news for opposing CHE teams, Saint Vincent commanded The University of Akron with a 12-0 opening season road victory. The game started evenly and each team had its share of fumbles and missed opportunities for the first few minutes. Then at 9:22 of the opening period, freshman Nino Dipietro took advantage of a set up from line mates Zach Motil and Chase Kushner and got nasty in front of the Zips goalie. SVC would need nothing more, but insurance goals came in bunches as the evening drew long with three in the first, four in the second and five in the third as the visitors ended with a 50 to 19 shot advantage. Akron had a few medium range shots on Vinny Amatucci, but he maintained control and thwarted what few quality chances were placed on him.
How did this happen? It took awhile for SVC to establish its bench rhythm and attack execution. But once able to get inside or behind Akron defenders the team turned into a swarm of snipers. Ten different players had goals, twelve had assists, and collectively Saint Vincent’s players placed 29 points on the score sheet. Every player had a least one plus, and only one was not credited with shot on goal. The slot, off the rush, back door, a scrum in front, defenders pinching into the deep slot for quick shots, all were part of the program. The defense held steady, closed gaps, moved pucks quickly and had solid hits to make plays without taking themselves out of position. The coolest play came at the start of the third period when an ill advised attempt to keep a puck in the SVC zone by a Zip defenseman ended in a classic 3:1. Motil, Dipietro and Kushner came with speed a quick passing befuddled the lone Akron blueliner and his goalie, 8-0 as Dipietro finished.
Who had the goals? Nate Loughner and Nino Dipietro had two each and single tallies went to Schall, Shigo, Motil, Williams, Traeger, Matis, Louie Amatucci, and Bedlli. And the assists? Spread the wealth. Two each from Shigo, Loughner, Motil, Dipietro, and solos from, Schall, Williams, Manolakos, Horton, Vecchio, Smith, and Costantino.
Next up for SVC, one of the top teams in College Hockey East, away at Kent State University. The schools have had some incredible battles the last few seasons. It’s early, but this match up already has the feel of playoff implications. It should be a dandy.