As the Seton Hall Pirates returned from Winter Break, they would be tasked with two key matchups against the University of Scranton and West Chester University. The Pirates kick off the new year holding the second-place position in the Colonial States College Hockey Conference. Only a couple points behind the University of Pennsylvania, the Pirates have a great opportunity ahead of them.

The first battle of the weekend would be set on Saturday, January 21st at Richard J. Codey Arena against the University of Scranton. The team would face a rollercoaster of emotions in the game as it would start off with Jason Cirillo scoring his first goal of his collegiate career. With a lead only three minutes into the first frame, The Royals would have an answer on the powerplay. The first period would sum up with a goal by Cam Toussaint, his first of the night and 13th of the year.

As we head into the second, the Pirates would find themselves in some penalty trouble and the Royals would capitalize on these mistakes twice. Liam Feeley and Matthew Brozey would both score for the University of Scranton with Brozey scoring his second of the game on the powerplay. The Royals would head to the locker room with a one goal advantage over the Seton Hall Pirates.

The third period would be filled with great opportunities for the Pirates as they would finally place one behind the Royals’ goalie. James Griffin would score his 20th of the season and continue to build on the phenomenal season he is having. The senior’ forward continues to stand alone at the top of the conference leaderboards. With the game going to overtime, the Royals and Pirates would be fighting for the second of two points that are up for grabs in the matchup. The teams would find themselves in a shootout after 5 minutes filled with offense, but neither goalie would give in to the pressure.

The shootout would last twelve rounds including a spectacular performance by sophomore goalie, Joey Yutsus. He would stop all of Scranton’s 12 shots and Damon Tozser would finish the job for the Pirates with a nice move to beat the Royals’ Goalie.

The team would face West Chester University less than 24 hours after their battle with the University of Scranton at the Ice Land Skating Center. With another two points up for grabs in the matchup, the game would have important implications for both teams.

The first period would be a test for the Pirates as each team would place one past the goalie with the score being tied up at ones. Cam Toussaint would add another tally to his weekend with his 14th of the season.

However, the second period would be a much different story for the Seton Hall Pirates as they would have one of their most dominant periods of the season. With the offense at work, the Pirates would place five past the West Chester goalie with two of them by James Griffin, one by Michael Volpi, one by Cam Toussaint, and a buzzer beater by John Anselmo.

As the third period rolled around, Cam Toussaint would net another one for the Seton Hall pirates to complete the hattrick. Morgan Bensel of West Chester University would score one before the final buzzer and the final would read 7-2 in favor of the Seton Hall Pirates. Freshman’ goaltender Joey Salvador would collect his fifth win of the season with a 33 save performance.

The Seton Hall Pirates will face a team TBD at home next Saturday and travel for their first out of league matchup of the season at Rider University on Sunday.

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