REISTERSTOWN, MD (February 21, 2024) -- The second-ranked Stevenson University put up two early goals, and despite some strong comeback efforts the King's College men's ice hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision in the program's first appearance in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The Monarchs finish their historic 9-17-0 overall, while the Mustangs improved to 20-5-1.
 
The host Mustangs struck early, netting the first goal of the game 13 seconds in at the Reisterstown SportsPlex. The King's (9-17-0) defense buckled down and held firm over the next onslaught of Stevenson  (20-5-1) attacks, with Matt Bidini making seven saves in the stretch, but the hosts found the back of the next again 4:22 into the first. The game went back-and-forth before the Monarchs were able to get off a flurry of shots, recording eight in a 1:43 span, but the efforts came up shy as King's faced a 2-0 deficit at the first intermission.
 
King's struck early in the second, this time on a breakaway by Kent Lee 38 ticks into the period to make it a 2-1 game. The Monarchs had several great opportunities to hit the game-tying mark thanks to five penalties by the Mustangs in the period, but each of their 12 shots on target fell short. Stevenson secured their insurance goal late in the period on a short-handed attempt with 4:18 remaining before heading into the final break down 3-1.
 
Stevenson tried to extend their lead early, but the Monarchs defense continued to battle behind another four saves from Bidini and a pair of blocks from Teodor Benno Vaage and Mauro D'Alessandro. King's returned the attack, but the Mustang defense had an answer. With time winding down, the Mustangs tallied a power-play goal with 1:32 left and then another when King's pulled Bidini to add the extra skater, securing the 5-1 win for #2 Stevenson in the UCHC Quarterfinals.
 
Lee recorded his point on two shots with a block, while Aaron Frenkel paced the offensive effort with six shots. Ethan Hersant won 21-of-33 in the face off circle, while both Jakub Viedemann and Erik Borschevsky recorded team-highs of three blocks. Bidini finished with 33 saves in goal for the Monarchs.
 
Blake Benson led the Mustangs with three points on a goal and two assists, while both John Musella and Frank Vitucci tallied five shots a piece. Eric Olson led Stevenson in the face off circle with eight wins, while Ty Outen  recorded the win in goal with 22 saves.
 
King's had the edge in face off victories, winning 37 to just 31 by Stevenson, while the Monarchs were slightly edged in blocked shots, 13-12.