WILKES-BARRE, PA (November 7, 2025) -- The King's College men's ice hockey team fell to Wilkes University in the opening game of the 2025-26 campaign, dropping the MAC contest by a score of 6-0 on Friday afternoon at the Toyota SportsPlex. The Monarchs begin the season at 0-1-0 overall and in the MAC. The Colonels' win boosts their record to 2-0-1, opening conference play at 1-0-0.
 
Wilkes started the game with immediate offensive pressure, forcing a save by Monarch goaltender Diego D'Alessandro 57 seconds into the contest. D'Alessandro got some help from Jayden Baldinelli, Gianmarco Caringi, Grant Parshall and Cristo Walker, all of whom laid out for blocks to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
 
After a Monarch was penalized for tripping, the Wilkes power play unit struck at 7:17 to take a 1-0 lead. The Colonels continued to test the King's netminder, who turned aside 13 more shots in the first frame to keep the visitors' deficit at one goal heading into the intermission.
 
Coming out of the break, Wilkes quickly doubled their lead; finding the back of the net just 1:15 into the second period.
 
King's generated a burst of offensive momentum following the 2-0 marker, as Thomas Soucy, Braydon Buckingham and Caringi all fired shots on goal within a span of just over two and a half minutes.
 
The ice abruptly shifted back in favor of the Colonels when King's was assessed a hooking penalty. At 7:14 of the second period, Wilkes struck on the man advantage to take a 3-0 lead.
 
D'Alesandro continued to battle in the Monarch's crease, recording three more saves before an even strength goal by the Colonels extended their lead to 4-0 at 13:17.
 
For the second frame in a row, King's mustered a strong offensive showing in the final moments of the period. Artisom Barashkin, Logan Gallagher, Soucy and Baldinelli all registered shots on goal in the final minute and a half of play, but couldn't solve the Wilkes goaltender who exited the ice with a 4-0 lead after 40 minutes.
 
D'Alessandro continued to fend off a barrage of Wilkes shots in the third, making three shots in quick succession roughly five minutes into the period.
 
Both teams went back and forth for a stretch before the Colonels netted their third power play goal of the afternoon at 12:04 to make it a 5-0 contest. Wilkes tacked on a fourth goal on the man advantage at 15:49 and survived a late push by the Monarchs, who dropped the contest by a score of 6-0.
 
Gallagher led all King's skaters with five shots on goal, followed closely behind by Barashkin with four. Parshall won nine draws at the dot to lead the Monarchs, who collectively recorded 24 faceoff wins. Baldinelli was a noticeable presence in the defensive zone, putting his body on the line with four blocks in the game. Between the pipes, D'Alessandro finished his outing with 36 saves.

The Monarchs and Colonels will meet again tomorrow afternoon for the second installment of their three-game MAC series. Faceoff at the Toyota SportsPlex is slated for 5:30.