Penn's club hockey beat Millersville University of Pennsylvania in the Colonial Cup championship on Sunday, winning its third consecutive league championship.
The game — which took place at the Class of 1923 Arena — ended in a 12-5 victory for the Quakers. Millersville was the top-seeded team in the playoff bracket and Penn's division rival this year.
“There’s a lot of history between these two teams — I would say it’s more dislike than like,” head coach Alec Artosky said.
The two teams played each other in last year’s Colonial States College Hockey Conference Championship game, when Penn won with a 10-3 final score. This season, Millersville bested Penn in regular season play on two occasions.
“That was a real wake up call for us,” College sophomore and goalkeeper Jack Averill said. “Since then, we’ve had their name circled on our calendar. We’ve been waiting for this game since that moment.”
The Quakers’ starting lineup dominated the opening minutes, maintaining control of the puck and forcing the Marauders to play defense. After just a few minutes of action, Penn had racked up five shots on goal and baited a Millersville defenseman into committing a two-minute tripping penalty.
Then, capitalizing on the power play, College senior Dhruv Raman found School of Dental Medicine student Cory Fraiman open at the top of the crease, and Fraiman buried his shot to give Penn a 1-0 lead.
“The biggest thing,” Raman said after the game, “was to get that first goal in. After that, the floodgates were open.”
Fifty-two seconds later, Wharton first-year Christopher Bugliosi outskated three defenders for a one-on-one with the Millersville keeper. Bugliosi flicked the puck into the back of the net, and the Quakers led by two goals.
With the first period winding down, a Millersville cross-check gave Penn another man advantage, which senior Calvin Aliferov converted to make the score four to one. Moments after the next puck drop, Millersville logged a tripping penalty — quickly followed by a second — and the writing was on the wall.
The Marauders, down by two players, couldn’t defend all five Quakers – a shot from Aliferov left Millersville’s goalkeeper on the ground, and before he could get back into position, sophomore defenseman Aidan Armaly tucked the puck away. After fifteen minutes of play, Penn had a commanding five to one lead.
By the end of the first period, the Quakers had scored three goals on four power play opportunities, while conceding only one of each to Millersville.
“It’s mental composure more than anything else, right,” Artosky said. “You have to want to win over wanting to have it out with another player. Sometimes you gotta take a punch, get slashed, and be willing to accept the power play … that’s the character of a good hockey team.”
The Quaker’s first period successes carried into the second period, during which Millersville pulled its starting goalie, and Engineering senior and forward Spencer Tuohy scored on the backup in less than a minute. With 14 minutes left in the game, Millersville committed a five-minute major penalty, followed by a minor infraction at the 11-minute mark. Again playing with a two-man advantage, Penn controlled the remainder of the game.
The Quakers passed the puck between players while Tuohy twice dodged Millersville defensemen and sent them crashing into the boards. When College sophomore A.J. Moshyedi snuck a no-angle shot into the Marauder’s net to give the Quakers a ten-five lead, fan celebrations began.
By the final buzzer, Penn had scored twelve goals, six of which came on power plays, and both Tuohy and Bugliosi managed hat tricks. Aliferov was named Colonial States College Hockey Conference Player of the Year, and Averill put up forty-three saves in net.
“Frankly, I didn’t have to do much,” Averill said. “I had a great team in front of me, a great core of guys. These guys are like family to me. It’s the best — the boys got ‘er done.”
Raman, as a graduating senior who witnessed all three of Penn’s consecutive Colonial Cup victories, echoed Averill’s sentiments.
“It’s an absolute pleasure winning right here [with] the fans, everything came together," Raman said. "[I’m] just proud of our boys … it was an absolute barnburner.”
Having won the Colonial Cup, Penn qualifies for the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Southeast Regionals tournament. As the Quakers head to Athens, Ohio, they hope to bring the same winning mixture of discipline, teamwork, and intensity to the next stage of competition.
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