Men’s Hockey Beats American 10-3
By Neil Kavanaugh
The Catholic University Ice Hockey team opened their season away this Friday, September 27, with a win over American University at Fort Dupont Ice Arena. The Cards outplayed the school rival 10-3.
Following their American College Hockey Association championship title, the Catholic Hockey Team has advanced to the College Hockey Federation division, a division above their previous one. American University plays in the ACHA, which is the same league that Catholic left this year.
Catholic opened the scoring in the first period with a breakaway goal from sophomore forward Kevyn Rigatti, who managed to beat both defenders. Rigatti had 27 goals and 19 assists last season. This was followed shortly after with a goal from senior forward Christian Sorensen, who scored from a 2-on-1 with help from sophomore Travis Duchene. Freshmen Devlin Powell and Dennis Genereau added to the lead to bring the score to 4-0 at the end of the first.
The second period started off rocky, with American getting 2 goals in to bring the score to 4-2. Catholic was not out however, as Rigatti netted his second goal of the night to bring the Cardinal’s lead to 3. This was followed up by a quick goal from Duchene. The line of Sorensen, Duchene, and Genereau saw much success, having a combined 7 points on the night. Sorensen netted his second of the night to bring the period to a final score of 7-2 heading into the third period.
The third period seemed to be the nail in the coffin for the Eagles. The Cards managed to get on the board early with a goal from senior Joe Pizzoferrato. Freshman Connor Santos and Duchene added a goal each. American found a way to score another goal with less than two minutes to go, but it was too late. The final score was 10-3 Catholic.
Despite the lopsided victory, the Cardinals are not satisfied. The American team is a division below them, and they are eager to make a name for themselves in the CHF.
“It wasn’t our best game, but it gave us a solid footing and we hope to get running this weekend,” said Sorensen.
Head coach Will Johnston is very proud of how deep his team is this year, and has big expectations for them.
“After some of the jitters were gone we were able to settle in and play our game,” said Johnston. “We obviously have a lot of areas to work on to get us to where I think we can be this season. We ended last season on a high note, but this team is even deeper than last year’s. With a stronger schedule and a better roster, I expect us to hit the higher ceiling we have the potential for.”
Catholic hosts the ACHA division Salisbury University team for their home opener this Friday, October 4 at 9:45 PM. The team begins CHF division play against Salisbury University team at Delaware State Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 5 at 4:20 PM.
