PITTSON, PA. – The Wilkes University Colonels made their annual cross-town trip to the Revolution Ice Centre to face Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) rival King's Monarchs Friday night.
 
The Colonels (5-0, 3-0 UCHC), ranked 14 in the USCHO.com national Division III poll, entered the third period up 4-2 and hung on to their 5-4 edge against a determine Monarchs (1-4) squad in the final seconds.
 
The game was physical from the first puck drop and the Colonels had several opportunities they failed to put home before Kings went on the power play at 15:25. The Colonels penalty kill clamped down on the King's power play, not allowing a shot on goal through the two minutes.  The Colonels finally found paydirt with 11:58 left in the first with a chip from senior forward Tyler Dill (South Lake Tahoe, CA/) in front of the net just out of the reach of the Monarchs goalkeeper.  First year Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY/) swiped the puck away from King's in the Colonels offensive zone shortly after, but was unable to land a strike on the King's net.
 
The Navy and Gold's skaters didn't give King's much room to operate in the first half of the first period, with the Monarchs only getting one shot on goal.  A penalty at 9:41 by King's gave the Colonels a power play opportunity.  A long-range snipe from senior forward Donald Flynn (Randolph, NJ/) almost got past King's goaltender Brandon Daigle left shoulder as the Navy and Gold poured on the shots, but were unable to find the back of the net with the penalty.  The Monarchs managed to generate more shots on goal after the penalty kill but were unable to make it past junior goaltender Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY/), even with a three on one opportunity just before the five-minute mark. 
 
Another Colonel power play opportunity started at 2:53 left in the first frame.  Daigle continued to shine in net for King's as he thwarted the first half of the Colonels power play with several good saves.  The King's penalty kill proved to be successful once more, leaving the Colonels still up only 1-0.  The Monarchs got a second power play opportunity of their own with 33.7 left in the period.   The Colonels outshot the Monarchs 12-7 on the period and won 13 of 18 faceoffs, but Daigle recorded 11 saves.
 
King's got an early shot that Paterson Jones bounced off his leg pads in the second period part of the power play, but got a clean shot between his legs to take advantage of the power play opportunity at 18:37.  The Colonels answered in a hurry at 16:59, bouncing a shot into the upper right corner of the net past Daigle to take 2-1 lead thanks to senior defender Scott Mueller (Mount Juliet, TN/) and assisted by senior forwards Nick Fea (Oak Ridge, NJ/) and Flynn.
 
First year forward Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA/) nearly got a chip shot past Daigle as the Colonels started apply even more offensive pressure.  The Colonels went on another power play at 14:18 in the second after a slashing penalty.  The King's penalty kill started out strong again, getting the puck to the Monarchs offensive zone early.  Flynn pinged a shot off the post shortly after, but the Navy and Gold power play was cut short at 13:00 as senior forward Tyson Araujo (Vineyard Haven, MA/) took a trip to the penalty box.  The Colonels took advantage of the four-on-four period, netting a wraparound goal at 12:15 just ticks after the Monarchs went on the power play.  Dill put home the shorthanded goal with an assist from graduate forward Taylor Brierly (East Grand Forks, MN).  Junior forward Nick Godfrey (Cedar Run, NJ/) very nearly tacked on another shorthanded goal on a breakaway.
 
A King's penalty put the Colonels back on the power play at 9:11 left in the second frame.   The Colonels only needed 17 seconds to make the game a 4-1 affair at 8:55 left in the period, with Dill earning a hat trick with an assist from senior defender Dylan Kuipers (Andover, NJ/).  The Colonels seemed to be in the Monarchs pockets as Kings attempted to get to their offensive zone, forcing several turnovers in transition and not letting the Monarchs run their offense in the middle of the second period.    The Monarchs took advantage of their few opportunities, getting a slapshot past Paterson-Jones at 4:13 left in the frame. 
 
Both teams took penalties with 3:17 left in the second for more four on four hockey, but it would become a King's powerplay at 2:30.   The Colonels penalty kill proved stubborn once more, and Dill very nearly added to his hat trick with a breakaway chance in the five on four part of the King's power play.  The Navy and Gold got a few more cracks at Daigle in the waning seconds of the period but were unable to hit paydirt as they went into intermission up 4-2.  The Navy and Gold outshot the Monarchs 22-8 in the frame, with Daigle recording 19 saves and the Colonels winning 16 of 26 faceoffs.
 
The Colonels started the third period with a barrage of shots on the Monarchs goal, culminating in a goal at 17:38 by Godfrey, assisted by junior forward Billy Berry (Redding, CT/) and Araujo.  The Monarchs responded immediately at 17:04 to keep within two of the Navy and Gold.  King's continued to keep their offensive presence felt for the next few minutes as they spent plenty of time in their offensive zone, but the Colonels managed to regain some offensive momentum headed towards the midpoint of the third.  The squads traded shots and time in their respective offensive zones for the next few minutes with neither breaking the ice.  The Colonels managed another barrage of shots just south of the 10-minute mark, but the advantage stubbornly remained at two goals in their favor.
 
King's found themselves with a power play opportunity at 8:59 to cut into the Wilkes advantage.  They did so at 8:06 to close within one of the Navy and Gold.  The Monarchs got themselves another power play opportunity at 7:42. The Wilkes penalty kill forced King's to spend a significant portion of the power play on the wrong side of the ice to preserve their one goal edge, which Daigle prevented them from expanding with another great save soon after getting back to even strength.  The two squads spent a couple of minutes wrangling over the puck around center ice as the clock ticked down towards two minutes.
 
The Monarchs earned a critical power play at 1:31 left in the game and went empty net to double down on the skater advantage.  King's very nearly punched in a close range goal past Paterson Jones with roughly a minute remaining but the junior stood his ground and prevented the tying goal.  The Colonels hunkered down around their goaltender and cleared out the puck with seconds left to shut the door on their crosstown rivals.
 
Paterson-Jones earned the victory with 18 saves, while Daigle stood tall against a Colonels onslaught in defeat with 41 saves.  The Colonels outshot King's 46-22 on goal and won the faceoff battle 40-24.  Dill scored a hat trick on the evening, while Fea contributed a pair of assists to the effort.  Jack Cooper scored two goals and tacked on an assist for King's in a losing effort.
 
The Colonels make a non-conference pitstop in their season opening road trip this Sunday as they travel to New Haven, Conn. to face Albertus Magnus.  Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. for the second game between the two teams.  The Navy and Gold took the first game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in the 2019-2020 season 6-1.