(The Red Hawks and Cadets shake hands following their SECHL semifinal last night.)

- Montclair, NJ

     Montclair's hockey season came to a close at the hands of two time defending champion Army last night.  After two solid upsets in a row to ranked teams Rider and Clarkson, the Red Hawks seemingly just ran out of gas in the 3rd period to a strong and rested Army team. 

     MSU had and up and down season, but at times, showed signs that they are a team on the rise.  However, they were sometimes reminded that talent needs to be matched by effort to reach consistency.  Their final record of 9-15-0 could have been better, and better efforts against Bryn Athyn and Eastern Connecticut State could have moved them into double digit wins for the first time post pandemic.  Penalties were definitely an issue, and resulted in potential wins turning in the wrong direction, as when the Red Hawks held a 2-0 lead on Army at home, halfway through the 3rd period, and gave the Black Knights the window of opportunity they needed for a comeback 3-2 victory.

     There are many reasons for optimism, however.  On many nights, the Red Hawks proved they can play with, and beat, some of the best teams at the ACHA DII level.  That game versus Army may have resulted in a loss, but MSU controlled that game for over 50 minutes.  MSU defeated a ranked Clarkson team two out of three games, including the opening round of the SECHL tournament.  Montclair also defeated a 10th ranked Rider team on their last regular game of the season.  Considering that the Red Hawks play in a conference with five of the Northeast Top-20 teams and played a home and home versus Rider, Montclair played 12 games this season against ranked opponents.  

     This season, there were several highlights, topped off by their first SECHL Tournament victory since 2015, their regular season upset over Clarkson and out of conference victories versus Stevens, Eastern Connecticut State, Drexel and of course, Rider.  The Red Hawks will return a large chunk of their roster, with many of their top players.  GM Rob Martinez is confident that there will be another solid influx of freshmen who will push the current players and compete for their own playing time.  All signs point to an upward trajectory for this team.  We'll see what the next stage is in eight months!