Checking In On Rutgers Men's Ice Hockey

(editor’s note: Rutgers hockey is a club sport and is not affiliated with the NCAA.)

The title may or may not be a pun.

With the 2017-18 regular season well underway for Rutgers Men's Ice Hockey, it might be a good time to check in on how they've been doing. Okay, that's enough. The teams have made steady progress over the past few seasons and taking small steps forward this year. The D1 Ice Knights have a 5-8-0-1-0 record while the D2 teams boasts a 4-3-1-1-0 record. Both teams went 2-0 this past weekend; D1 swept West Chester and outscored them 5-2 while D2 defeated Seton Hall Friday night 3-1, and Princeton the following night 5-3.

Captain Griffin Privitera currently leads the D1 Ice Knights in scoring with 12 points (5G, 7A), averaging 0.86 points per game. CJ Maksut has nine (5G, 4A) in 14 games played. Drew Murtha (6G, 2A) and Andrew Yasenchock (2G, 6A) both have eight. Matt Langlois, Mitch Crenshaw, and freshman Sean Lippincott have seven each.

Peter Krzewinski leads the D2 team in scoring with 15 points (6G, 9A), averaging 1.67 PPG. Three of his tallies have been on the power play and his nine apples lead the team. Branden Kushnir has 12 points (6G, 6A) on the season in eight games, averaging 1.5 PPG. Cory Zrinko leads the team in goals scored with seven.

In 13 games, Christopher Marsillo has a 4-8 record, a 4.95 goals against average, and an .896 save percentage. Chris Fiorillo has also played in three games; he has a 1-0 record, a 3.38 GAA, and an .897 save percentage.

Thomas Marigliano has played six games this season for the D2 Ice Knights and has a 3-2 record; he's posting a 2.31 GAA and an impressive .944 save percentage. Andrew Krynicki and Michael Liscio have also seen some game time.

The D1 Ice Knights went winless in their first six games (0-5-0-1-0), including five straight games at home to start the season. They opened the season with a 7-3 loss to Colorado State; Chris Holowko, Ian Zyvith, and CJ Maksut tallied goals in the loss. Zyvith and James Summers had two point nights. Marsillo made 52 saves on 59 shots against. The two teams also had 40 penalty minutes combined.

They then faced Colorado State in the second half of a back-to-back and lost in overtime, 3-2. Yasenchock and Langlois had regulation goals for Rutgers. They were then shut out 6-0 in both games by Liberty. They also lost 5-3 to Stony Brook; Matt Sanchez lit the lamp twice and Privitera tallied his first goal of the season.

But their seventh game was a confidence booster. Down 4-0 just a minute and a half into the second period, the Knights mounted a comeback. Langlois (2), Maksut, Murtha, Lippincott, and Tyler Allen (2) all tallied goals to take the game 7-6. Lippincott's was the first of his Rutgers career; Maksut's was the game-winner.

They lost to Delaware but won both games against West Chester. Maksut tallied the overtime winner in the first game; Yasenchock scored the unassisted game-winner at 10:52 in the third frame of the second. They then proceeded to lose both games to NYU, by a combined score of 16-5.

Which brings us to this past weekend. They played another set of back-to-back games against West Chester, one home and one away. They won the first game in a shootout, 3-2; Murtha and Privitera tallied regulation goals. Murtha (1G, 1A) and Ned Richards (2A) had two-point nights. Lippincott scored the eventual shootout winner. The Ice Knights returned home on Saturday and won 2-0 over West Chester; Privitera and Maksut scored. Marsillo posted a 45-save shutout and had an incredible game.

The D2 Ice Knights are 4-3-1-1-0. In their season-opening game against North Texas, they held 2-0 and 3-1 leads, and then a 5-4 lead after the halfway mark in the third. Cory Zrinko led the way in scoring with a natural hat trick; Krzewinski and Margiotta also tallied in the effort but they would fall with 49 seconds remaining in overtime.

They picked up their first win of the season the following season against North Texas, climbing back from multiple two-goal deficits. Krzewinski (2), Kushnir (2), and Dion Yan all scored goals. They fell to St. Joe's but had an emphatic 5-1 win over Princeton. Kushnir (2), Kyle Smith (2), and Daniel Taule all scored, and Thomas Marigliano had a shutout going until the Tigers scored with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.

They tied Monmouth at one, fell to TCNJ 3-1, and lost to the University of Scranton 9-6. They went 2-0 this past weekend against Seton Hall and Princeton. Friday night's game against SHU was intense. After a scoreless first, the Knights went down 1-0 early in the second but answered back with a tally of their own, credited to Ian Baker, his first. Zrinko scored the GWG early in the third and Krzewinski would add an empty-netter with 49 seconds left to finish it. Marigliano picked up his third win.

On Saturday, they defeated Princeton 5-3. All five goals were scored by different players: Krzewinski, Zrinko, Eric Affrunti, Trevor Smolsky, and Daniel Sanigorski. Andrew Krynicki picked up the win.

Hopefully both teams can keep the momentum going. Both Marsillo and Marigliano have looked good this season. Both teams are getting scoring from players across the board. They're playing a chippy, physical game (and racking up the penalty minutes in the process).

They're playing fun hockey and while ProSkate Arena might be freezing, attending games is worth it. The D1 Ice Knights take on the University of Alabama this upcoming weekend in a back-to-back set on Friday (7PM) and Saturday (3PM) at ProSkate. The D2 Ice Knights play Seton Hall at Richard J. Codey Arena on Saturday (9:45PM) and NJIT on Sunday (8:30PM) in Newark.