PITTSTON, PA (February 13, 2026) – The King's College men's ice hockey team fought until the final buzzer on Friday night, dropping a 3-1 decision to Wilkes University in Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) play at the Revolution Ice Centre. The Monarchs move to 4-16-3 on the season and 4-12-3 in the MAC. Across the ice, Wilkes now stands at 13-7-3 overall and 10-7-3 in conference play.
 
King's came out sharp; winning the first two faceoffs in short succession and generating the first looks of the contest as Mikey Harrel Jr. tested the goaltender in the opening minute. On an early power play shortly thereafter, the Monarchs moved the puck crisply and produced multiple shot attempts, including efforts from Teodor Benno Vaage and Thomas Soucy that were turned aside. Defensively, King's blocked several early Wilkes attempts, with Zane Burleigh, Landon Bechtolt, and Justin Spurrell each stepping into lanes as Williams set the tone with composed saves during the opening stretch.
 
Wilkes opened the scoring midway through the first period, taking a 1-0 lead at 12:03. King's answered with a strong close to the frame - Cristo Walker drove the momentum with a trio of attempts during a productive offensive shift, while Harrel Jr. contributed a key block to prevent the deficit from growing before the intermission.
 
The second period featured long stretches of defensive resolve from the Monarchs. Williams was at his busiest, turning away a series of Wilkes rushes and point shots across multiple minutes, including several sequences where he made back‑to‑back saves to hold the margin at one. King's skaters supported him effectively - Burleigh and Gianmarco Caringi each blocked shots at critical moments, while Spurrell and Jerry Rausch erased shot lanes during extended defensive zone time.
 
The Monarchs produced their best scoring chance thus far 2:20 into the middle frame, when Bechtolt took the puck into the offensive zone on a breakaway. His shot was saved, but generated a juicy rebound that found the stick of Rausch, who wristed another shot on goal. The Colonel netminder denied both bids, but the sequence provided life for the King's bench.
 
As the period moved along, the visitors strung together multiple series of attacks. Williams steadied the group with a composed mid‑period stand that included a key save at 6:06, robbing a Wilkes wraparound attempt with a post-to-post save before shutting the doors on another shot just seconds later.
 
King's answered with a push of its own as Soucy and Harrel Jr. both put pucks on net while Braydon Buckingham saw a pair of shots get blocked in traffic.
 
In the final minutes, Wilkes pressed again with several attempts through traffic, but King's stayed organized. Williams remained sharp in net down the stretch, capping the frame by stoning a partial breakaway at 15:12 to erase a late look. The Colonels continued to hunt for a second goal, but another string of saves by the netminder sent the game into the second intermission with the Monarchs' deficit still only at one.
 
Wilkes doubled its advantage just 1:16 into the third period to take a 2-0 lead.
 
After surviving another flurry of attempts from the Colonels, an offside whistle on Wilkes brought the draw back to the Wilkes end, setting the Monarchs up with a chance to counter. Buckingham picked off a neutral zone-bound pass and found Soucy wide open in front of the goal. Soucy was patient with the puck, taking the space in front of him before unleashing a shot that beat the goalie's glove-side pad to put King's on the board. Buckingham was credited with the assist on Soucy's team-leading 12th goal of the season at 5:59.
 
The Monarchs built on the surge with additional pressure, as Armstrong, Arkhypenko, and Walker all produced looks while Williams delivered several more big saves at the other end to keep the game within reach.
 
King's earned a late power play with just under three minutes remaining and pulled the goaltender for a 6‑on‑4 advantage. The unit generated several quality scoring chances - including looks from Kevin Martin, Erik Hegyi, Soucy, Burleigh, and Bechtolt - during a sustained stretch of attacking possession. However, Wilkes bury the puck into the empty net to restore a two‑goal cushion. King's continued to push through the final seconds, but could not find a second marker.

Soucy led the offense with the lone goal, assisted by Buckingham. Benno Vaage paced the Monarchs with three shots, with Soucy, Harrel Jr. and Parshall adding two apiece. In the faceoff circle, Parshall won 10 draws, followed by Cristo Walker with eight and Martin with five.
 
Defensively, Burleigh led the team with four blocked shots, while Spurrell added three and Benno Vaage contributed two. Williams turned in another strong performance, making 41 saves on the night.
 
King's returns to action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Arcadia University for their final road game of the season. Puck drop against the Knights from the Hatfield Ice Arena is slated for 1:40 p.m.