The 2019 -2020 SVC Ice Hockey Team
Kneeling (L-R): Shane Stone, Alex Ferraro, Robbie Wynn. First Row Standing (L-R): Cam Roth, Mike Ziemianski, Eli Svonavec, Isaac Pesicka, Taylor Hall, Joel Santoro, Reese Capo, Zack Zapata, Mitch Fuchs, Andrew Vecchio, Stone Haberstroh, Trent Stead, Head Coach Brett Martz, Bob Martz. Second Row Standing (L-R): Tristan Moyer, Joe Moyer, Nick Rogalski, Jake Swick, Cheyton Burchick, Chris Miller, Alex Ulry, Clark Josephson, Mike Mallozzi.
Season Ends with Difficult Loss to Pitt-Greensburg
In spite of a 98 to 39 shot advantage and a huge time of possession difference, an otherwise dominating performance ended with heartbreaking 3-2 triple overtime loss to Pitt Greensburg. Although Saint Vincent came out unprepared and surrendered two early sloppy goals, it rebounded with a back door tap in by Chris Miller and a blistering top shelf wrist shot by Tristan Moyer after a deft puck steal by Alex Ulry. The Polar Bearcats could simply not solve the riddle created by the opposing net minder and was crippled with 8 shots that hit posts or crossbars throughout the game.
Playoff Bound!
SVC faces off against Allegheny College at The Rostraver Ice Garden on Saturday, February 29 at 7:00 PM in first round CHE playoff action. The victor skates against the winner of the Case / Pitt Greensburg match that immediately follows at the same location. The CHE D4 Championship is set for Noon on Sunday March 3, also at Rostraver.
Polar Bearcats End Season with Back to Back Wins – Waits for Playoff Seeding
After a disappointing start to the second semester and a successions of tough losses, SVC ended with back to wins over Case (5-1) and Duquesne (9-7) to close the season with a 10-5-1 mark.
The Case game had a similar story line to the opening match of the season. The Spartans outshot Saint Vincent 43 to 33 and held a decided possession advantage, but could not match the physical play or the first line of SVC. Special teams play proved to be Case’s undoing with two shorthanded goals by Stone Haberstroh and a power play marker by Joe Moyer. Eli Svonavec made his first goal of the campaign count as the game winner. Bizarre penalty calls created a series of unusual bench rhythms for Coach Brett Martz but Alex Ferraro proved almost unsolvable in goal turning in a 42 save effort.
Sunday, February 16 was senior recognition day with the team celebrating the careers of four players, Stone Haberstroh, Cheyton Burchick, Eli Svonavec, and Joel Santoro. The game started well for SVC gaining an early 6-0 shot advantage before a very quick skating Duquesne squad jumped to an early lead that became a see-saw affair and 3-3- tie at the end of the first period. The Dukes came with speed, continually circled in the Saint Vincent zone and created space advantages that often caught SVC out of position leaving the Duquesne attackers open for scoring opportunities. Undisciplined play resulted in the Polar Bearcats taking 5 minor penalties that enabled Duquesne to throw 20 shots on Alex Ferraro. Stellar plays by Stone Haberstroh and Mitch Fuchs created two short handed goals for Saint Vincent to go along with three even strength goals. The third period started with an 8-5 SVC lead and a Duquesne power play and although the Dukes drew close on #16 Nick Lippa’s 5’th goal, a power play goal by Chris Miller ensured the win. The Dukes did score with the goalie pulled but time expired before more damage could be done. Shots on goal: Duquesne 53 Saint Vincent 43. Final score: SVC 9 Duquesne 7.
Of the 9 goals and 10 assists marked in the game only one point, an assist by Alex Ulery, came from a player outside the top four scorers. Stone Haberstroh, 2 goals (one shorthanded) and 3 assists, Mitch Fuchs 3 goals (two shorthanded) 2 assists, Zack Zapata 1 goal (on a power play) and 2 assists and Chris Miller 3 goals (including the game winner) and 2 assists accounted for all the damage. Only two players for SVC did not get a minus in the game, Mike Malozzi and Reese Capo. Goaltender Alex Ferraro played well enough to gain his 6’th win of the year, but had way too many outstanding scoring opportunities from the porous SVC defense to keep more than 46 shots out of the net.
Plucky Effort against IUP Falls Short – SVC Gets Rematch Next Saturday Away at Indiana
In spite of inspired play and spectacular goaltending by Alex Ferraro, SVC could not get past a deep, big and talented IUP team, dropping a 5-1 decision. Penalties plagued the game as several Saint Vincent players who had very few sin bin sits the entire season sat as many times as they had the entire campaign so far for the season. Frequently penalties become stacked and each side demonstrated a lack of discipline as a number of power plays were eliminated as a result of infractions by the other side during man advantages. Cheyton Burchick had the lone SVC score in the second period as he emerged from a corner battle on a set up by Joel Santoro. Alex Ferraro made 61 saves and appeared back in top form in the pipes. Even though IUP had a tilted advantage in power play time resulting in a huge 66-15 shot difference, Saint Vincent entered the third period down by only a 2-1 score. Isaac Pesicka rocked an IUP player by launching him into the air after he knocked Alex Ferraro’s mask off after an IUP score. It appeared that the refs were going to ignore the incident until Isaac made the statement. Both players received 10 minute misconducts as a result. Coach Martz applauded the response and the play of Andrew Vecchio who stepped up to more minute sin the absence of several key SVC players who were not able to go in the game. With the folding of the Cleveland Sate program, IUP offered and SVC has accepted the opportunity to play back to back in an away rematch for the Green and Gold on Saturday, February 8, at 5:50 PM in Indiana.
Inconsistency Plagues Team – Drops a 6-5 Decision Against Pitt Greensburg
In spite of outshooting UPG by a a 53 to 28 margin, Saint Vincent permitted the Bobcats to take advantage of every opportunity and dropped a tough game against its local rival. Several bad angle goals and an undefended net combined with untimely penalties and poor puck management negated at times dominating play by the Green and Gold. The Pitt Greensburg net minder consistently held his angles and made several stellar saves as the frustrated SVC shooters also missed several chances. A hat trick by Stone Haberstroh pushed him past the 20 goal mark and Mitch Fuchs continued to demonstrate dominate playmaking with 4 assists. Alex Ulery opens the scoring with his first goal of the campaign and Tristan Moyer deflected in a puck on some tough net play.
SVC Drops to Penn State Altoona – Adds Game with I.U.P.
In spite of 4 goals from the blue line corps and a 3 assist effort by Mike Mallozzi, Saint Vincent dropped a strange game to Penn State Altoona by a 7-5 margin, with the last PSA goal being an empty net tally. As PSA dominated the 1’st period so did SVC in the second, with the third frame turning into a cautious chess match that saw Altoona win on a late score. Saint Vincent’s first line was an uncharacteristic minus 3 for the game. SVC was plagued by turnovers and passes to the opposing team, lacked puck support, and failed to capitalize on some great opportunities by lacking a consistent presence in front of the opposing goaltender. Bright spots included a 2 goal effort by Chris Miller, first career goals by Taylor Hall and Trent Stead and two assist each to Alex Ulery and Tristan Moyer.
In off ice news, SVC has added a game with I.U.P. The home contest will be played on Saturday, February 1 at 6:00 PM at Center Ice Arena in Delmont.
Polar Bearcats End Semester with 5-3 Win against Penn State Altoona – Finish 1’st Half 8-1-1
A total team effort produced three power play and two even strength scores without the first line recording a goal in an away match at Penn State Altoona. Clark Josephson opened the scoring with Chris Miller firing a power play shot behind the PSU goalie to end the period at 2-0. Tristan Moyer had the only second period goal with Penn State scoring on a long shot to end the period at 3-1. Twice PSU pulled within a goal of Saint Vincent with each team getting two tallies in the third. But SVC took advantage of a lack of discipline by the Lions and had power play goals added by Nick Rogalski and blue liner Chris Miller. Shane Stone got the win in goal making 27 saves on 30 shots.
SVC Enters Thanksgiving Break with a 7-1-1 Record
In spite of a disappointing effort against Allegheny College the Polar Bearcats have created a solid 7-1-1 record as they enter the Thanksgiving break. One game remains in the semester, an away contest against Penn State Altoona, on Friday, December 6.
Wins over RMU (9-4) and Duquesne (4-1) were marred by a 5-5 tie against Allegheny College, a game where SVC squandered several leads to a talented Allegheny squad. Nick Rogalski paced all scorers with 5 goals over the three matches followed by Stone Haberstroh’s 4 scores. Goaltending was strong with all three netminders, Alex Ferraro, Shane Stone, and Bobby Wynn grabbing minutes.
Polar Bearcats Starting to Build Special Season
With decisive wins over Pitt Greensburg and Pitt Bradford the past weekend by respective 11-4 and 12-1 scores, Saint Vincent improved its record to 5-1-0, positioning itself to have one of its best seasons in recent years. In the Friday evening match against UPG, St. Vincent lost an early lead with sloppy play and ended the first frame behind 4-3 in spite of 2 scores by Haberstroh and a goal by Burchick. SVC continually gave away time and space and had poor defensive zone play in front of goaltender Alex Ferraro. UPG took advantage of what was given, scored 3 goals less than 5 minutes and held a 15-8 shot advantage after the first. Adjustments to start the second settled the play off Saint Vincent and a shorthanded and even strength goal by Zack Zapata began to turn the tide. The score that sent UPG on its heels came after some devastating wall play by Joel Santoro and Cheyton Burchick. Emerging from a rugby scrum, Santoro worked his way behind the UPG net and laid a perfect feed to Captain Stone Haberstroh who snapped the puck into the net for a hat-trick goal. With a 6-4 lead heading into the final period, Tristan Moyer found the net three times in the third to go along with scores by Haberstroh and Fuchs. Alex Ferraro faced 37 shots to gain the win.
The result was little better for host Pitt Bradford team on Sunday. At their home rink in Olean, NY, UPB played a calculated first period and used solid positional play to frustrate SVC until a Zach Zapata goal cracked the opening score. Followed by a Joe Moyer goal, SVC took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. The second frame was owned by Saint Vincent as 25 shots and goals by 6 different players overwhelmed a single power play tally by UPB. Bradford recovered in the third until penalties gave SVC the opportunity to score 3 power play goals, including a hat trick by Joe Moyer, who match this brother’s effort the day before. Shane Stone made 22 saves for the win. Two players collected their first scores of the season as Joel Santoro deflected a shot with his skate and Mike Malozzi was finally rewarded after numerous scoring opportunities early in the contest.
Two important road games are on schedule next weekend as the Polar Bearcats travel to Robert Morris on Friday evening and face off against Duquesne University in a Sunday morning match.
Penalty Filled Game Ends with SVC Beating Pitt Bradford 7-3
Lead with a 4 goal effort by Captain Stone Haberstroh, that included 2 shorthanded tallies, SVC took a big early lead, lost ground with Pitt Bradford staging a comeback, and finally put the game away with the last two scores of the match. Zack Zapata added two scores with Mitch Fuchs adding 5 assists. Clark Josephson had the opener for SVC. Two outstanding plays included a give and go net drive by Haberstroh with a back and forth feed with Fuchs behind the net and the second shorthanded score by the SVC Captain. He stripped the puck in the defensive zone and snapped a blistering wrist shot over the UPB netminder. Freshman goalie Shane Stone stopped 18 shots in his first game for SVC to record the win. He made several key saves that kept UPB at bay when they drew the score to 5-3 early in the 3’rd period. Numerous minor penalties on both sides destroyed the flow of the game. One altercation resulted in 4 fighting penalties. After a scrum that was cleared by the officials UPB player #18 pitchforked SVC defenseman Chris Miller who defended himself in the scuffle. Andrew Vecchio was also ejected for Saint Vincent.
Saint Vincent Preps for Back to Back Games Against Pitt Bradford
SVC will play home and away the next two Sundays in its first ever match ups against Pitt Bradford. Saint Vincent will play at home Sunday, October 27 and travel to Olean New York for a 3PM game the next Sunday.
Polar Bearcats Defeat Robert Morris
A match that should have been a decisive win for SVC stayed tense until Clark Josephson scored a goal midway through the third period to lock in a 4-1 victory. RMU goaltender Wyatt Wolf made 73 saves and played a solid positional game cutting angles and frustrating the Saint Vincent shooters. Nick Rogalski’s opening shorthanded goal was answered by RMU late in the first period on a break-away from the penalty box. Freshman defenseman Chris Miller scored his first SVC goal, shorthanded, in what would be the eventual game winner in the second, followed by a power play goal from Zach Zapata. Alex Ferraro got the win in goal, splitting the game with Rob Wynn who foiled RMU on a breakaway. Every player for SVC had a shot on goal.
Success with Case Western
Although Case dominated in shots by 47 to 28 and zone time, they could not solve the goaltending riddle of Alex Ferraro or a 5 goal SVC power play outburst as Saint Vincent skated away with a 7-2 victory. The first line of Haberstroh, Fuchs and Zapata combined for 6 goals and 4 of the power play scores with a hat trick by Haberstroh and 2 power play markers by Zapata. Nick Rogalski added another power play score. The game winner came on an incredible end to end rush by Haberstroh, taking the puck from behind the Saint Vincent net, working through several checks along the wall in the Case zone and ending with a sharp wrist shot behind the Spartan goaltender. One area dominated by SVC – hits. Moyer Inc. brothers, Joe and Tristan, Joel Santoro and Cheyton Burchick ran over and through several Case players.
SVC Drops Opener to I.U.P. 5-1
After a surprise start and an early lead on a goal by Joe Moyer, SVC faded against I.U.P. as the game progressed. Numerous penalties on both sides make for a choppy contest as Saint Vincent struggled to maintain good defensive gaps. Several blue line turnovers and long passes that seldom connected thwarted momentum for the home Bearcats. Goaltending was solid and the team played a strong third period, deadlocking IUP at 0-0. IUP held the shot advantage at 56 to 26.
Saint Vincent travels to Case this Friday to start league play.
Captain Stone Haberstroh and Assistant Captains Joe Moyer and Trent Stead lead SVC in its first game of the 2019-2020 season, Sunday, September 22, 2019 vs. I.U.P. at Center Ice Arena in Delmont. Face Off at 2:20 PM. The game marks the start of the 50’th season from the team’s origination in 1969-1970 by students Bob Farrell and Gerry Hyner.