PITTSTON, PA (Jan.20, 2024) - - After being outlasted the night before, King's College men's ice hockey defeated Nazareth University 2-1 in the second game of a United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) series. Shota Kaneko scored the game winning goal as his first in his Monarch career, while Kent Lee scored the first goal of the game. The Monarchs are now 7-10-0 overall and 6-6-0 in UCHC play. 

The Monarchs came out hungry for a goal from the moment the puck dropped. Lee scored the first goal of the game for King's within the first three and a half minutes of play and was assisted by Mauro D'Alessandro. Kaneko continued the offensive momentum and scored his first career goal less than a minute later unassisted. The Monarchs went into the second period with an early 2-0 lead.

In a penalty-filled second period, both teams played aggressive offense in hopes of finding the back of the net, but the Golden Flyers were the only ones to find it. Almost 12 minutes into the period, Nazareth scored its first goal of the day in power play. The Monarchs were able to hold them off for the remaining eight minutes despite some close calls and maintained their 2-1 lead to go into the final period.

The final 20 minutes of play was an intense and chippy third period on both sides of the puck. While neither team found the back of the net in the final period, both teams play strong defense and were urgent on offense, including in the final minute of play when Nazareth pulled its goalie in an attempt to send the game into overtime, but was unsuccessful. King's ultimately came out on top and won 2-1 against Nazareth. Tyler Sayger finished the game with 24 saves in goal and Luke Babilon added 2 saves on defense. 

The Monarchs take the ice again next weekend, Jan. 26 and 27, for another two-game series against UCHC and Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) opponent Alvernia University. Both games are away at Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex at 7 pm.