REISTERSTOWN, MD (January 16, 2026) -- The King's College men's ice hockey team found themselves on the wrong end of an offense-filled Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) battle with Stevenson University on Friday night, falling 7-3 at the Reisterstown Sportsplex. King's moves to 2-12-1 on the season and 2-9-1 in conference play, while the Mustangs climb to 9-5-0 overall and 8-2-0 in the MAC.
 
Stevenson opened the contest with a slew of opportunities, forcing King's goaltender Ben Williams to make a pair of saves with some help from Teodor Benno Vaage, who blocked a third scoring chance. Justin Spurrell and Bennett Anklewich got in on the defensive action with blocks of their own as Stevenson continued to press.
 
The Mustangs drew a penalty 5:44 into the contest and set up shop in their offensive zone, putting two shots on Williams before capitalizing on the power play at 7:06 to take a 1-0 lead. Stevenson continued to surge following the opening goal, testing Williams with five more shots before the Monarchs generated an offensive chance of their own.
 
King's responded in the middle stage of the first frame when Steven Armstrong powered his way into the offensive zone and threaded a backhanded pass through a slew of Stevenson defenders to Braydon Buckingham. The sophomore rifled a shot that beat the goalie to his glove hand side and leveled the score at 1-1. Armstrong picked up his first point as a Monarch on the play as he and Erik Hegyi assisted on Buckingham's second goal of the season at 13:30.
 
Shortly after Buckingham's game-tying tally, King's headed to the box once again. Sensing a chance to flip momentum, the Mustangs sealed the puck in the offensive zone and sent four shots in on Williams, who stood tall and denied each attempt. Stevenson ultimately broke the tie on the man advantage to reclaim a one-goal lead at 16:18.
 
The parade to the penalty box continued as Stevenson was assessed a minor at 16:45. The Monarchs generated several good looks with Buckingham, Mikey Harrel Jr. and Jayden Baldinelli all putting shots on net in short succession.
 
As time expired on the power play, the momentum the man advantage unit generated paid off for King's. A low-angle shot from the goal line by Landon Bechtolt produced a juicy rebound, which Spurrell quickly buried into the back of the net to knot the score at 2-2. Bechtolt and Baldinelli assisted on Spurrell's first collegiate goal at 18:45.
 
The Monarchs attempted to set the tone in the second with a pair of shots by Denys Arkhypenko and Spurrell, which respectively sailed wide and was blocked by Stevenson. The game quickly turned into a special-teams battle early in the middle frame, as King's. On the power play, Stevenson countered with pressure of its own and notched the 3-2 marker at 1:43.
 
Despite the go-ahead goal, the ice began to tilt in favor of the visitors as the Monarchs earned a lengthy 5-on-3 advantage after back-to-back interference penalties against the Mustangs. During the power play, King's controlled the zone and produced sustained offense, firing repeated attempts from Baldinelli, Harrel Jr., and Thomas Soucy, while Bechtolt and Logan Gallagher added looks through traffic. Stevenson's goaltender was forced to make several saves as the Monarch power play unit moved the puck crisply and generated second chances, though the stretch failed to produce a goal.
 
Momentum once again swung late in the period as Stevenson capitalized on special teams, striking for a power-play goal at 1:43 to take the lead before adding an even-strength tally at 2:36. King's continued to battle through the final minutes, creating additional chances from Harrel Jr. and Arkhypenko, but the Mustangs added another goal at 17:22 to close the period, despite Williams' continued efforts during heavy pressure in the closing stretch. After 40 minutes of play, Stevenson held a 6-2 lead.
 
As the third period opened, the Monarchs looked for an offensive surge to get themselves back in the game. They caught some puck luck when Armstrong carried the puck into the slot and sent a shot that sailed wide. A Mustang defender who was attempting to disrupt Armstrong's shot slid into the mouth of the goal, accidentally making contact with his own netminder and taking him out of the crease. The puck rang around to Zane Burleigh, who scored on the unattended goal with a shot from the half boards to cut the deficit to three. Armstrong and Hegyi collected their second assists of the evening on the 6-3 goal at 4:19.
 
Stevenson applied pressure in the ensuing stages of the final frame and answered with a goal to restore its three-goal cushion. The Mustangs continued to press offensively, but Williams held strong through another sequence of shots as King's worked to regroup and generate possession through the neutral zone.
 
Late in the period, special teams became the focal point. Stevenson capitalized during a power-play sequence, extending the lead to four. Despite a late King's power play that produced chances from Kevin Martin and Harrel Jr., regulation time expired with Stevenson sealing the 7-3 result.
 
Buckingham, Spurrell and Burleigh produced the three goals for the Monarchs while Armstrong and Hegyi turned in two-assist performances. Harrel Jr., Martin, Soucy and Baldinelli shared the team lead in shots with four apiece. Grant Parshall excelled at the faceoff dot, winning a team-high 11 draws.

Burleigh and Benno Vaage anchored the King's defense with a pair of blocks each. Behind them, Williams finished the night with 46 saves.
The Monarchs return to the Reisterstown Sportsplex tomorrow for another installment of the MAC series with Stevenson University. Puck drop against the Mustangs is slated for 4:00 p.m.