After just a three-game engagement in the 2020-21 season and starting the current season 0-4-0, Albertus Magnus has won their last four games in a row including the championship game of the PAL Stovepipe Tournament last weekend. The 5-1 win over Western New England earned the second-year team their first trophy and a chance to build on their winning momentum.
“We’ll have to find a spot for the trophy,” said head coach Kyle Wallack. “I am sure we will have a place for it, and it was great to win it and celebrate it as a team. I actually don’t think there was very much that changed between the four-game losing streak and the four-game win streak. We definitely benefited from getting our No. 1 goaltender back as well as one of our top forwards, but I thought we deserved better results for our efforts with two one-goal games and a lead against Wilkes that they scored an empty-net goal at the end. Our guys have stuck with our program by focusing on the compete level and attitude – we want to outwork and outsmart the opposition.”
A key element in the recent success has been goaltender Logan Bateman. Bateman, a transfer from Elmira, broke his hand in August and missed much of the teams’ activities into the start of the season. In his six games this season, Bateman has a 4-2-0 record with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. He has been an integral part of the current win streak.
“We knew he was a No. 1 goaltender when he came here,” said Wallack. “He is calm and very athletic and has picked us up when we have made some mistakes in front of him. It is great to have him healthy and playing well.”
Up front the Falcons have relied on the productivity of their first line which includes Jonathan Stein (5-5-10), Tyler Ignazzitto (4-5-9) and Alex Gagnon (1-6-7). The group has been a challenge to stop by any opponent but are now getting some added support from other players chipping in with goals.
“We have to remember this is only year two for us, “ noted Wallack. “Yes, we have better depth, and we just had a meeting about more guys stepping up every weekend to help give us that needed secondary scoring. Our first line can play with any team in the country, and they have had great chemistry the moment they started playing together. Now we want to see other lines emerge. Freshmen Sam Anderson and Ryan Colwell have started scoring so we are starting to see those contributions from other lines.”
With just three games remaining in the first semester, the Falcons are focused on finishing strong before the break. This weekend they play at Post before traveling to Trinity next Tuesday and closing out at home against Neumann on December 10.
“They are all good teams,” stated Wallack. “I think this season there have been a lot of games that demonstrate the parity in D-III hockey. Post is a natural rival here in Connecticut and we haven’t beaten them. No more motivation than that needed to stay fired up and continue to improve our game. We continue to have fun every time we step on the ice so we will focus that on practice today and getting ready for Post on Friday night.”
