WILKES-BARRE, PA (February 6, 2019) – The King's College men's ice hockey team will be on home ice for the final time this season with a pair of games against Manhattanville College and Neumann University this weekend at Revolution Ice Centre. The Monarchs will honor their four seniors on Friday night at 7 p.m. against the Valiants before looking to sweep the season series against the Knights on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 
Event Details
Opponent: vs Manhattanville College (12-7-3, 8-4-3 UCHC, 4-1-1 MAC)
Date: Friday February 8, 2019
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Pittston, PA – Revolution Ice Centre (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Opponent: vs Neumann University (5-13-4, 4-7-4 UCHC)
Date: Saturday February 9, 2019
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Location: Pittston, PA – Revolution Ice Centre (Directions)
Live Coverage: (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Last Time Out: King's dropped a hard-fought 4-0 game against UCHC co-leader Wilkes last Thursday. The Monarchs kept the high-scoring Colonels off the scoreboard until 8:26 of the second period behind a great defensive performance and excellent goaltending by Brandon Daigle. The Colonels scored three more times in the third. Daigle finished the game with 43 saves.
 
Manhattanville won a pair of home games last weekend against Chatham and Stevenson. The Valiants defeated the Cougars 6-4 on Friday night before taking down the Mustangs 4-3 in overtime on Saturday to keep pace in both the UCHC and MAC races. Braeden Cross had two goals and an assist while Cory Anderson scored twice to lead MC against Chatham. Tyler Feaver made 18 saves in net. On Saturday Casper Dyrssen scored with 16 seconds left in regulation after Manhattanville pulled their goalie to force overtime before Joel Knight ended the game 2:12 into the extra session. Feaver made 20 saves for 38 on the weekend.
 
Neumann continued their second half surge with a pair of victories over Stevenson and Chatham. The Knights edged SU 3-2 before taking down CU 7-1 down in Aston. Richie Brusco tallied the Knights' first two goals before Joe Mitchell scored the game-winning against the Mustangs on Friday night. Mike Cosentino made 29 saves in net. Michell continued his spectacular play on Saturday with a hat trick against the Cougars. He also had three assists while Chris Caldwell added two goals and an assist. Cosentino made 30 saves before being relieved by Kyle Pantalone for the final 5:14.
 
The Book On The Monarchs (1-20-0, 1-13-0 UCHC, 0-7-0 MAC):

• King's will honor the program's first graduating class this weekend as seniors Jamie Lukas, Nicholas Gullo, Nicholas Palumbo, and Jake Tugnutt will all be in the starting lineup on Friday night against Manhattanville.
• Lukas is one of just three skaters to play in all 46 games the Monarchs have played. This year he leads the team in goals scored with seven. In November the senior had a program record streak of four straight games with a goal.
• Palumbo has been very good on defense this year and throughout his career at King's. Offensively he is fourth on the team with five points on one goal and four goals. The senior tallied a season-high two points on a goal and an assist back in November at Elmira.
• Gullo has scored one goal this season back on November 2 against Elmira. The senior has done most of his work in the faceoff circle winning 70 of his 131 attempts in 20 games for a .534 win percentage.
• Tugnutt has played in six games this season recording a 5.77 GAA and a .879 save percentage. The senior recorded a career high 52 saves at Trine in early January. He has done an excellent job this year mentoring freshman Brandon Daigle in goal.
• King's is playing at home for the first time since January 18 this weekend after a long four-game road trip. The Monarchs are looking for their first win in front of their home fans despite playing very well at Revolution Ice Centre.  
• The Monarch offense has faced strong goaltending their past three games and will look to break their scoreless streak this weekend against two teams looking to lock up postseason berths.
• Luciano Bucci leads the team in scoring with 13 points on five goals and three assists. The sophomore has also won the most faceoffs on the team going 210-173 for a .548 win percentage.
• Christian La Croix has been very dangerous on the power play this year as the sophomore has three goals and one assist while taking a team-leading 23 shots when King's is on a power play opportunity. Overall, La Croix has scored five goals and taken 45 shots in 16 games.
• Assistant captain Tommy Green put his name into the record books with the game-winning goal in the last meeting against Neumann. The sophomore scored with 2:29 left off assists by Matt Amelio and Cameron Anklewich.
• Brandon Daigle has seen most of the action in goal this season and will most likely be in net against the Knights on Saturday. The freshman has a 4.25 GAA with a .900 save percentage in 15 games. He has made 540 saves including 46 in the first meeting this season against Neumann.
• The Monarchs are down to 14.4 penalty minutes per game. King's has been successful on 83 of 107 penalty kills this year and have scored three short-handed goals including two by Bucci.

The Book On The Valiants (12-7-3, 8-4-3 UCHC, 4-1-1 MAC):

• Manhattanville is playing their best hockey at the right time scoring six goals a game over their current four-game winning streak. The Valiants have been very good on the road this season amassing a 6-2-1 record away from the Playland Ice Casino in true road games.
• The Valiants are currently fourth in the UCHC and can lock up a berth in the conference tournament with a win on Friday night. MC is also very much in contention for the Middle Atlantic Conference title and will earn that in their final year in the conference with a pair of victories this weekend over the Monarchs and Wilkes.
• Manhattanville has won all three meetings with the Monarchs including a 9-1 victory earlier this year in New York. The Monarchs played the Valiants tough in the meeting at the Rev last season as the Valiants rallied for four straight goals to defeat King's 4-1.
• The Valiants are tied for eighth in scoring offense with fellow UCHC/MAC member Wilkes. The two teams are atop both conferences with 4.00 goals per game. Manhattanville is 23rd in scoring margin at 1.05.
• Matt Lippa is tied for 16th in the nation in points per game with 1.41 recording 31 points on 13 goals and 18 assists in 22 games. The senior had two goals and two assists in the win over King's back in December.
• Oscar Arfelt has the most points by a defenseman in the nation with 25 on five goals and 20 assists. The senior is tied for eighth in assists per game with 1.00. He had four assists against the Monarchs in the first meeting.
• Kenny McLean and Marco Ferraro are tied for third on the team with 19 points. McLean has scored nine goals including six power play goals which is tied for the 11th most in Division III. Ferraro is 16th in the nation in points by a defenseman and has a team-best plus/minus of +13.
• Senior Tyler Feaver is 7-5-3 in goal this year with a 3.09 GAA and a .886 save percentage. He has made 359 saves while facing 405 shots in 15 games in net with one shutout.
• Mac Vail has also seen action for the Valiants in goal recording a 5-2-0 record in eight games with a 2.07 GAA and a .913 save percentage with one shutout.
• The Valiants are averaging 13.7 penalty minutes per game and have allowed 16 power play goals on 97 opportunities. MC has scored a power play goal 24.8 percent of the time which is 10th in the nation. However, they have also allowed six short-handed goals during their 113 opportunities.

The Book On The Knights (5-13-4, 4-7-4 UCHC):

• Neumann is surging over the second half of the season after a slow start. The Knights have gone 5-1-2 in their last eight games to move into the sixth and final UCHC playoff position with two weekends left in the regular season.
• The 2009 National Champions enter the weekend looking to continue their hot streak during the second half of conference play with their only loss so far coming at the hands of co-leader Elmira 3-2 a couple weeks ago in New York. They have defeated co-leader Utica and tied fifth-place Nazareth in that stretch.
• The Knights won two close meetings against the Monarchs last year before King's rallied with two goals in the final 10 minutes for KC's first program victory in the first meeting this season.
• Cullen Chin scored for the Knights in the first period of the first meeting this year between King's and Neumann. Lukas and Green then scored in the final 10 minutes of the third for King's.
• Mike Cosentino has been a big part of Neumann's recent success as the goaltender has been strong in net with a 2.30 GAA this season and a .934 save percentage. He is 5-4-2 since taking over the starting job. The sophomore made 27 saves against the Monarchs earlier this year.
• Joe Mitchell was named the UCHC Player of the Week after an amazing weekend where he recorded seven points on four goals and three assists in two pivotal wins in UCHC action versus Stevenson and Chatham. He tallied the game-winning goal in the third period of a 3-2 victory over Stevenson on Friday. On Saturday, he recorded a six-point day, scoring a hat trick and adding three assists in a 7-1 win over Chatham on his own Senior Day. Mitchell leads the team with 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists
• Defenseman Richie Brusco is second on the team in scoring and is one of the top scoring defensemen in the nation with 20 points on four goals and 16 assists. He is tied for 10th among defensemen at 0.91 points per game. He has tallied two assists in four of the past five games including the last three and has also scored two goals in three of those five games.
• Zac Boyle and Chris Caldwell have played well for the Knights recording 19 points and 16 points respectively. Boyle has tallied eight goals and 11 assists while Caldwell has recorded seven goals and nine assists. Boyle had three assists against Chatham on Saturday while Caldwell had two goals and an assist.
• Neumann is second in penalty minutes per game with 18.9. The Knights are 97 for 122 on the penalty kill this season and have scored two short-handed goals.
• The Knights have scored 23 power play goals this season on 132 opportunities but have also allowed six short-handed goals.

Up Next: King's will travel to upstate New York for their final two games of the season next weekend. The Monarchs will take on UCHC co-leader Utica on Friday night at 7 p.m. from the Adirondack Bank Center at the Utica Memorial Auditorium before traveling to Rochester for a Saturday 4 p.m. puck drop against Nazareth.