The Pioneers traveled to NYU where they played long-time rival going back to their D2 days. The Pioneers trailed 1-0 early, but the Power Play struck twice in the first giving them a 2-1 lead to settle the team in.  Two Power Play goals by Adam Marvin (Clarkstown, NY), with 2 assists by George Boyle (North Wales, PA) and one by Thomas Bauer (Fords, NJ). In the second period, the Pioneers Power Play struck again when Bauer scored a deflection off a George Boyle shot. Jason Lastra (Rutherford, NJ) would strike with assists coming from Marvin and Austin Teats (Emerson, NJ) giving the Pioneers a 4-2 lead after two. The Pioneers would exchange goals with NYU as Alex Cavaluzzo (Parsippany, NJ) converted late on a breakaway to seal the 5-3 win. Goaltender Hunter Koch was solid in net stopping 27 shots on the night.

The next afternoon at home, the Pioneers were off to a strong start outshooting NYU 9-1 through the period, however two back-to-back penalties derailed the momentum. The Pioneers were frequently in the box and dropped the contest 6-3. Pioneer goal scorers included Bauer and Teats (2), with assists coming from Lastra, Marvin, and Braden Ploehn (2) (Pompton Plains, NJ). Cole Mulholland (Pompton Lakes, NJ) recorded 36 saves in the loss.

The following weekend the Pioneers took on league opponent George Mason on Friday Night. Although the Pioneers outshot the Patriots, the Pioneers dropped the game 5-2 with goal scorers Bauer and Marvin capitalizing on the Power Play. Goaltender Nick Johansson (West Milford, NJ) took the loss in net recording 32 saves. Coach Ballance commented on the loss “we failed to capitalize on our chances tonight, but moreover the effort and energy was lackluster and unacceptable for a league opponent. We need to do a better job in creating our own energy on a consistent basis”.

The next night, the Pioneers turned the page to another league opponent in West Chester University, which saw an evenly played first period with the Pioneers scoring a late short handed goal by Jason Lastra. The Pioneers built off of that momentum in the second period scoring three times as Ryan Moloughney (Secaucus, NJ), Austin Teats, and Nick Jinks (Annandale, NJ) found the net. The Pioneers took a 4-0 lead into the third period and closed the game out with a final score of 6-1. Joe Vocca (Wyckoff, NJ) recorded his first collegiate goal and Thomas Rhodes (South River, NJ) recorded his first collegiate point assisting on the Vocca goal.  The night was capped with strong efforts throughout the lineup notably on defense with Braden Ploehn, Ryan Murphy (Enfield, CT), JP Foley (Roseland, NJ), Nick King (Oak Ridge, NJ), and Thomas and George Boyle. Cole Mulholland recorded 31 saves on the night. Forwards John Pallis (Randolph, NJ) and Mike King (Oak Ridge, NJ) provided strong efforts on the night. Coach Ballance was pleased with the effort noting that “tonight’s game was really about a strong team effort all throughout the lineup with everyone contributing at some point in this game. This was a great bounce back from Friday night and a game to build off of”.

The Pioneers finish up the semester with 3 games:

11/19 Away at Navy (McMullen Arena - Annapolis, MD)

12/3 Home vs Rutgers (Ice Vault - Wayne, NJ)

12/4 Away at Temple (The Igloo - Mt. Laurel, NJ) 

Photo Credit:  Marissa Vandenberg