The Pirates continue to roll in what has been one of the best starts in Seton Hall Hockey history.

The team traveled to the Barnabas Hockey House, practice rink of the New Jersey Devils, to take on cross-town rival NJIT. Freshman Liam Hoyt opened up the scoring with a deflection in front, the first of his career. The Highlanders would answer four minutes later, burying a rebound on the powerplay and tying the game. This would be the first time the Pirates have relinquished a lead this season. The Pirates demandingly answered back, putting three more pucks in the back of the net, two from captain Thomas Healy. The Pirates entered the locker room up 4-1, knowing that they needed to keep up their style of play if they were going to hold onto this lead.

The second period featured a defense-first mentality from both teams. Seton Hall found themselves in penalty trouble for the first ten minutes of the period, having to kill a 5-minute major and a 5-on-3 within that span. However, thanks to senior goaltender Adam Spitz and solid penalty killers in Robby Anderson and Justin Petracco, the Pirates escaped the long penalty kill with only one goal against. The Pirates never doubted themselves, and just four minutes later, freshman Mike Mascolo fired one home to put his team back up by three. Through two periods of play, the Pirates found themselves up 5-2 and outshooting their opponents 30-8.

The flood gates opened back up for the Pirates in the third. Healy scored his third of the game, earning his first hat-trick of the season (and getting a hat thrown on the ice by a nice fan). Cam Toussaint, Nick Serapiglia, and Jimmy Griffin also scored goals, each contributing to yet another four-goal period. The last five minutes of the game featured chippy play from both sides, potentially setting the stage for when these two teams meet again next week. When the final buzzer sounded, it was the Pirates who prevailed in a dominant 9-2 performance. Adam Spitz made 9 saves in his second win of the season. 

Spitz and the Pirates have yet to lose, extending their winning streak to five games. The Pirates will aim for a similar result next Saturday, when they take on NJIT at home. The game will be a pink-out game in honor of breast cancer awareness month, with a ceremonial puck drop at 8:30pm. Admission to the game will be $5, although additional donations will be graciously accepted. The Pirates will also be selling pink t-shirts that can be worn at the game. All profits and donations will be donated for breast cancer research.

Photo Credits for the game @armophoto

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