RYE, NY (Feb. 17, 2024) - - Jakub Viedemann scored with 31 seconds left in play to send King's College men's ice hockey into overtime with United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) opponent Manhattanville before Brendan Krawczyk earned the game-winning goal to help the Monarchs defeat the Valiants 5-4 this afternoon. Ethan Hersant also added four points from two goals and two assists in the Monarchs' win. With this win, King's has clinched its first UCHC playoff birth in program history and are now 9-16-0 overall. 

In a gritty game overall, both teams battled to be the first to score. While King's found the back of the net about half way through the first period, the goal was called back and the Valiants put the first point of the game on the scoreboard at the 12:31 mark. The Monarchs continued to fight until the end of the period however as Denys Arkhypenko scored with less than a minute left to send the Monarchs and Valiants into the second period at a 1-1 draw. He was assisted by Shota Kaneko.

The Monarchs wasted no time to continue their offensive momentum in the second period as Hersant scored an unassisted goal just five minutes into play. Manhattanville was quick to respond however as they scored less than a minute and a half later to retie the game up 2-2. The Valiants then scored twice in power play at the 8:18 and 13:25 minute marks before Hersant scored his second unassisted goal of the day with 11 seconds left in the second period. Despite the last minute efforts, Manhattanville still led 4-3 going into the final 20 minutes of play.

In yet another chippy period, it was a head-to-head fight for both teams to put another one in the net. While the Valiants had a strong defensive showing, it was not enough to hold back the Monarchs as Viedemann tied the game up with just over 30 seconds left in play thanks to assists from Kent Lee and Hersant. The Monarchs and Valiants headed into overtime at a 4-4 draw.
Krawczyk scored the game-winning goal four and a half minutes into overtime with the help of Viedemann and Hersant again. King's ultimately defeated Manhattanville 5-4 after overtime.

Not only was this game huge for the Monarchs' offense, but it was a relentless showing on defense as well. King's finished the game with 16 blocks including four from Teodor Benno Vaage and three from Erik Borschevsky. Matt Bidini finished with 26 saves in goal, and Hersant tallied 33 faceoff wins for the Monarchs as well.

The Monarchs will take the ice again on Wednesday Feb. 21 for their first-ever UCHC playoff appearance. The time, opponent and location are still yet to be determined, but more information will be avaliable soon via kingscollegeathletics.com.