2018 2019 Team – Front Row (L-R) Eli Svonavec, Clark Josephson, Alex Ulery, Alex Ferraro, Roman Lauff, Isaac Pesicka. Standing (L-R) Mike Ziemianski, Brett Martz, Stone Haberstroh, Reese Capo, Jake Swick, Cheyton Burchik, Joel Santoro, Nick Rogalski, Trent Stead, Joe Moyer, Zack Zapata, Rob Wynn, Cam Roth Bob Martz. The smiles reflect what is shown on the scoreboard, a 4-3 OT win against UPG.
SVC Loses to Case in 1’st Round of Playoffs
Saint Vincent dropped a 4-1 decision to higher seeded Case in CHE playoff action in the opening round. In spite of dominating play by Case, out shooting SVC 52 to 10 for the entire contest, superb goaltending by Alex Ferraro held the game scoreless after one period. Case went up by 2 goals in the second, but Saint Vincent freshman Clark Josephson found the back of the net on a set up by Alex Ulery to get the Polar Bearcats to a one shot game midway through the third period. The tide seemed to be turning when Saint Vincent started to pick up the physical play, but with 4 minutes remaining, the Case Spartans scored twice in close succession. Although able to keep the Case attack on the perimeter for most of the game, lack of puck pursuit and support plagued Saint Vincent for most of the match. The Lacrosse program again hurt the team as Captain Stone Haberstroh did not play as a result of a road trip for the Lacrosse team. The overlap of the season’s two sports has plagued the ice hockey team in several end of season playoff runs. Neither team took a penalty in the entire game.
Polar Bearcats Get Playoff Call
As a result of their dramatic 4-3 overtime win over Pitt Greensburg, SVC has qualified for the CHE playoffs. The team faces off against Case on Friday, March 8 at 8:40 PM at the Bairel Ice Complex in Warrendale. A victory would then move SVC against Denison in the finals the following day, Saturday, March 9 at 4:45 PM at the same location.
Two Games Go to O.T. with Different Outcomes – SVC Holds Hope for Playoffs
Saint Vincent played to identical 4-3 scores each game this past week-end taking extra time to decide the eventual winner in both contests. Case came to SVC on Friday night and even with a small bench played a spirited match against a Saint Vincent squad that appeared to tire as the game wore on. Losing a 2-1 first period lead Saint Vincent enter the third knotted at 3 with the Spartans erasing leads created by two Nick Rogalski goals and a solo score by Clark Josephson. After a 0-0 third, it took Case only seven seconds in overtime to get the game winner. Both net minders turned in strong efforts with Case outshooting the Green and Gold by a 44 to 42 margin.
Arch rival UPG dominated play early in the Sunday game but unlike Case, it was Saint Vincent that tilted the ice after the first period . With stellar goaltending, and a 29 to 21 SVC shot advantage, the Bobcats entered the final period up 3-1. Desperately needing the win to stay in playoff contention, SVC finally solved the UPG goalie as Stone Haberstroh struck for his second score of the game with less than 5 minutes remaining. With spirits lifted, the Saint Vincent attack became relentless forcing several simultaneous icing calls against Greensburg. With SVC preparing to pull the goaltender Alex Ferraro at the 2 minute mark, Roman Lauff made a strong play to keep the puck alive in the Bobcat zone throwing a hard shot to the net that was slammed home on a rebound by Alex Ulery to knot the game at 3. UPG had a few late chances but showed only token resistance as Saint Vincent controlled most of the play in the O.T. On the third shift of extra period, Roman Lauff, supporting strong wall play by Stone Haberstroh, again found a way to move the puck into the zone where Nick Rogalski, left alone in front of the UPG net was able to swing the puck behind the UPG goaltender for the winning score. Saint Vincent outshot UPG 20 to 5 in the third and overtime periods.
SVC Splits Weekend Games
The Polar Bearcats split games this past weekend besting CMU by a 9-1 margin Friday and then dropping a 7-1 contest against Akron on Sunday. In spite of being short players, CMU put together a some strong attacks. But their lack of depth eventually enabled Saint Vincent to score 9 times on 63 shots with the CMU goaltender making some incredible saves to keep the green and gold away from double digits. Stone Haberstroh collected a hat trick with Joe Moyer and Nick Rogalski each picking up two scores. Roman Lauff had 3 assists from the blue line as Zack Zapata and Clark Josephson each had multiple point games. Akron posed a different problem for SVC as they controlled special teams play with 3 power play goals and one short handed score in beating Saint Vincent 7-1. SVC had several early chances and shot wide multiple times looking sluggish with its overall play. What appeared to be a clear score by Joel Santoro was waived off by the officials after a long conversation at the end of the play and the lone tally came from Nick Rogalski on a set up by Stone Haberstroh and Joe Moyer.
Team Plays Well against Denison
Behind incredible goaltending effort, Saint Vincent surprised Denison by pressing the first place team in back to back games last week-end. In the first contest SVC dropped a 6-4 decision and outscored the host team 3-2 in 5:5 play but was unable to overcome 9 minor penalties as the Ohio school placed 4 power play goals behind Alex Ferraro. Learning from the first contest, Saint Vincent adjusted and pushed Denison to the limit on Saturday night, reversing the tables with 3 power play goals to Denison’s one man-advantage score. SVC twice pulled the goaltender at the end of the third period. The first time senior Roman Lauff, moved from defense to establish net front presence, was able to draw the score to 5-4. Saint Vincent had the opportunity to again press the play with a 6’th attacker and scored what would have been a game timing goal, but could not beat the clock by a 1/2 second margin.
Alex Ferraro had 93 saves over the two games and was easily the number one star for either team. Captain Stone Haberstroh had a 3 goal 1 assist weekend while Nick Rogalski, 2 power play goals 1 assist, Zack Zapata, 1 goal 3 assists, and Joe Moyer 1 goal and 2 assists lead the attack. Newcomer Alex Ulery continued to help improve the offense by collecting 3 assists.
SVC Game vs CMU CANCELLED
The game that was scheduled against CMU for Saturday, February 2 at PPG Arena has been cancelled. CMU and PPG were not able to agree on the terms of the ice agreement upon review by Counsel for CMU. Additional discussions continue for alternatives for the SVC and CMU teams. Details will be made available at a later date.
SVC Bests Edinboro – Preps for Game Against CMU at PPG Arena
Finally playing their first game of the second semester, Saint Vincent defeated Edinboro in a high scoring contest by a 13-5 margin. In spite of only having 8 skaters, the Scotts showed tenacity the entire match but could not claw back three stellar performances by Nick Rogoski (5 goals and 1 assist), Zack Zapata (3 goals and 2 assists) and Captain Stone Haberstroh (3 goals and one assist). Newcomer Alex Ulery provided 3 assists and the game winning score was recorded by Joe Moyer.
A new game was added for Saturday, February 2, against CMU at PPG Paints Arena. The team will have a one hour pre-game skate starting at 11:15 AM with face off set for 7:00 PM. Tickets may be purchased through Ticketmaster by pasting the the following link in a web browser:
https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/16005638ECE453B4
The game previously scheduled for Sunday against IUP has been cancelled and the contest against Case, previously set for January 20, has been rescheduled for Friday, February 22 at 8:20 PM at Center Ice Arena in Delmont.
Game against Case Schedule for 2/20 Postponed
The threat of weather has caused the Case game schedule for 2/20 to be postponed. Additional schedule changes including additional games against CMU are forthcoming.
Injuries Plague Team in Away Game at Penn State Altoona
SVC struggled against a deep PSU Altoona squad dropping a 9-1 away contest. Depth remains an issue. In spite of of starting the season with a full four lines and 6 defensemen, the Green and Gold continue to have issues with key players injured or being absent. The loan score for St. Vincent came on a break-away by Zack Zapata on a set up by Stone Haberstroh and Roman Lauff. SVC has one more game remaining for the first semester, Friday evening, December 7 in an away match with UPG at Cener Ice Arena. Face off is at 7:25 PM.
SVC Bests UPG for First Win Then Slides Against Case
Saint Vincent outplayed the UPG Bobcats in an away game with a decided 47 to 27 shot advantage, and rode three power play goals by Nick Rogalski to a 4-3 victory on Friday night. Tanner Detesta also scored his first career goal for the Green and Gold with a top shelf wrister on a 3 on 1 break for SVC. The advance was short lived when a visiting Case team took advantage of a depleted lineup that consistently gave up too much time and space in the defensive zone, permitting the Spartans to control play on the perimeter for extended periods behind the blue line of Saint Vincent. Still, behind the strong net minding of Alex Ferraro and another power play goal by Nick Rogalski, Saint Vincent kept the contest close until breakdowns eventually enabled Case to pull ahead by a 3-1 by the end of the second period. Case scored an empty net goal to make the final a 4-1 loss as the Polar Bearcats were outshout 62 to 24.
Offense Struggles Against a Fast Denison Team
In spite of taking an early lead, SVC consistently provided too much time and space to a small, quick and plucky Denison team falling in the end by a score of 8-3. The upcoming weekend has two important league matches, Friday night against UPG and Sunday afternoon against Case. Both games will be played at Center Ice in Delmont.
Green and Gold Lose Late at Case
Saint Vincent dropped a tough road game, 2-1, against Case when the Spartans scored with less than 20 seconds to go in the third period. The loan SVC score came when a point shot by SVC Blue Liner Trent Stead was not handled by the Case net minder and Jake Swick, left alone in front of the goal, was able shove a backhander into the home team’s net. SVC held a 1-0 lead going into the third with strong goaltending by Alex Ferraro. The play was sloppy for both teams but SVC struggled to make plays and get to loose pucks as the game was played on a larger Olympic ice surface. The officials struggled with the application of NCAA rules and made several mistakes with icing calls that negatively impacted the flow of the contest. SVC had several regular players missing from the line up with injuries.
SVC Improves but Falls Big To Penn State Altoona
In spite of scoring 4 goals and at times playing even with the 3,500 student Penn State Branch Campus, SVC could not match the offense of the Blue and White, giving up 11 tallies for the second consecutive game against an upper division opponent. There were bright spots. Stone Haberstroh scored twice as Sam Paquin and Isaac Pesicka each picked up two assists. Zach Zapata scored his first goal as did Nick Rogalski who laced a break-a-way shot behind the Penn State net minder on a set up by Jake Swick who made an old fashioned play by taking a hit as he drew a PSU defender away from his responsibility and threw a perfect pass to Rogalski. St. Vincent travels to Cleveland to face off against Case Friday evening at 8:30 PM.
Polar Bearcat Schedule in Flux
The schedule for Saint Vincent has been put in disarray as both RMU and CCAC dropped teams. Along with other issues this transitioned a 19 game slate to 15 contests. Stay tuned as additional teams are being contacted with attempts to build the number of games.
SVC opens new season with road game at IUP
A young Polar Bearcat team struggled against a deep and talented IUP squad dropping an 11-1 decision. At times SVC appeared to balance the play, but other than a loan power play goal by Joel Santoro, were not able to keep up with the Crimson and White of Indiana.