Catholic University Men’s Hockey Weekend
Image courtesy of CUA Hockey Facebook
By Neil Kavanaugh
The Catholic University Men’s Club Hockey played back-to-back games this past weekend. The Birds beat Rutgers-Camden University 9-4 at Fort Dupont Ice Arena on Friday, November 1 and traveled to Aston, Pennsylvania to beat Widener University 9-5 on Saturday, November 2. The Cards sit atop the American Division with 6 points, and a perfect record against teams in their division.
The Birds started their weekend with a statement win over Rutgers-Camden University, which was highlighted by a hat trick from senior forward Christian Sorensen. The first period was a stalemate until the 12 minute mark, when Sorensen scored to give the Cards the lead. Sophomore forward Kevyn Rigatti added to the lead just minutes later to bring the score to 2-0, but the lead would not last for Catholic. Rutgers stormed back to bring the score to an even 2-2. With under two minutes left in the period, Sorensen got his second of the night to give Catholic a 3-2 lead going into the intermission.
The Cards continued their strong play with a quick goal from sophomore Travis Duchene in the first two minutes of play. Rutgers answered less than a minute later, but freshman Dennis Genereau scored later in the period to bring the score to 5-3 by the end of the second.
The third period proved to be the highlight of the game for Catholic. Rutgers managed to get on the board one last time, but Catholic responded tenfold. Sorensen completed his hat trick, senior forward Connor Cassidy scored, and Rigatti and Duchene both potted their second of the night to bring the score to 9-4.
Watching the game at Widener University, one would not be able to tell that the team had played less than 24 hours before. Duchene scored just 3:24 seconds into the period to give Catholic a 1-0 lead. Rigatti scored his third in just two games less than two minutes after Duchene to give the Birds a 2-0 lead early in the game. Widener scored 9:05 into the period to bring the score within one, but they would not gain much more momentum. Rigatti scored at 3:40 to bring the score to 3-1. Widener would score just 12 seconds later to make the score 3-2 going into intermission.
Cassidy wasted no time in the second period, scoring just 33 seconds into the period. Widener responded at 6:21, but Genereau scored his first of the night just 57 seconds later to make it 5-3. Duchene and Widener both scored one to bring the total score to 6-5 at the end of the second.
The third period was dominated by Catholic University. Cassidy and Sorensen both scored, and Duchene got his third of the night to complete his hat trick.
With these wins, Catholic University improves to 5-1 on the season, and are on a three game winning streak as of now. The Birds are 3-0 in American Division games, and they sit atop the standings with 6 points.
The Cardinals play York University on Saturday, November 9 at the Gardens Ice House. This game will charge $5 for entry, as it is Catholic’s charity game. The team is raising money for the Washington Ice Dogs, an ice hockey team for children with special needs. Any additional donations will be more than appreciated, and if you are interested in donating, contact [email protected].
