PITTSTON, PA (January 7, 2023) – A gritty match up with the visiting Stevenson University saw the King's College men's ice hockey team battle for the full 60 minutes before falling, 4-1, at the Revolution Ice Centre on Saturday evening. The Monarchs drop to 2-8-1 overall and 2-6-1 in the UCHC, while the Mustangs improve to 7-8-0 and 3-5-0 with the series sweep.
 
Stevenson (7-8-0, 3-5-0 UCHC) tallied two early marks to jump ahead, 2-0, just 8:04 into the match up. Facing a ridiculously aggressive battle with the Mustangs, King's (2-8-1, 2-6-1 UCHC) found an opening just 5:19 later as Rhett Padgett broke through to score an unassisted goal and head into the first intermission with the Monarchs trailing, 2-1.
 
Despite the Mustangs maintaining much of the possession in the second period, the teams went scoreless in the stanza to head into the final period with Stevenson ahead, 2-1.
 
The visitors would take advantage of some untimely penalties from the Monarchs to wear down the King's defense and tack on two more insurance goals in the third, first in the fourth minute then again in the 15^th minute, to secure the win and hand King's the 4-1 final in the UCHC contest at the Revolution Ice Centre.
 
Padgett picked up a point on his goal off two shots, while Casey Gerstein led the King's offense with seven shots. Tyler Blanchard was strong in face offs, earning 16 victories on the dot, while Alexander Ray posted nine wins. Additionally, newcomer Brendan Krawczyk was extremely efficient in his face off opportunities, winning 7-of-9, while Patrick Nowak blocked a team-high three shots. Tyler Sayger picked up the loss in 58 minutes, recording 36 saves with a game-high 15 in the second period.
 
Stevenson was led by Liam McCanney with three points on a goal and two assists, while Austin Master totaled a team-high six shots to go along with two points on a goal and an assist. Eric Olson earned a team-best 10 face off wins, while Zach Egber blocked a team-leading two shots. Goalkeeper Ryan Kenny earned the win as he posted 20 saves in the match up.
 
The Monarchs held the edge as a team in the face off column, earning 36 face off wins to just 28 by the Mustangs.
 
King's will be back in action on Tuesday evening as they host Buffalo State at the Revolution Ice Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for a 8:15 p.m.