Rye, NY – On Friday, Chatham Men's Hockey (16-4-0, 7-4-0) faced off against Manhattanville (4-14-1, 3-7-0) in a critical conference matchup. The Cougars took down the Valiants by a final score of 3-1. 

The Cougars took the fight to the valiants early in the first period of action. 23 seconds into the game, Bekk McClaine took advantage of a Valiants defensive miscue to score his 8th goal of the season. The goal was set up beautifully by Charlie Smith, and it put the Cougars up 1-0. The Valiants answered back, evening the score 1-1 at 16:13. Seizing the moment, the Cougars would quickly regain the lead moments later. Nick Cyprian would bury his 13th goal of the season from Jake LaRusso and Tyler Samodral at the 18:44 mark of the second frame. 

In the second period, the Cougars would get the lone goal of the frame to extend their lead to 3-1. Jake LaRusso scored his 8th goal of the season on the power play at the 2:30 mark of the second frame. LaRusso was set up nicely by Nick Cyprian and Caden Pendo. 

The Cougars would hold the Valiants scoreless in the third period. Manhattanville pulled its goaltender late in the frame, pressing for the equalizer, but could not solve the Cougars' stout defense. The Cougars finished the game with 29 blocks as a team, with four different players recording a game-high 4 blocks individually. 

First-year goaltender Nikolas Trakakis led the defensive effort, earning the win after his strong play in the crease. He made a career and game-high 44 saves and finished the game with a .978 save percentage. On offense, the Cougars top line was rolling with Jake LaRusso and Nick Cyprian, both recording 1 goal and 1 assist. 

Men's Hockey will face off against Manhattanville in game two of their road series tomorrow, February 6th. The game is scheduled for a 2 pm puck drop.