Swain's Hat Trick Caps Off Impressive 6-2 Victory over King's for Wilkes Men's Ice Hockey
 
PITTSTON – A four-point performance by Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ/) was the exclamation point on an offense-filled evening for the Wilkes men's ice hockey team, who defeated cross-town UCHC rival King's College 6-2 on Wednesday night at the Revolution Ice Centre.
 
The win boosted the Colonel's record to 5-3-0 on the season and 3-2-0 in-conference. The Monarchs fell to 2-5-0 overall and 2-3-0 in the UCHC.
 
The Colonels were awarded the first power play of the game when they drew a slashing call at 2:42 into the first period. The man advantage quickly got to work, cycling through the Monarch's zone. After picking up a pass from Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN/), Billy Berry (Redding, CT) worked his way towards the center of the ice and fired a shot that snuck past three defenders and into the back of the net. Jungwirth assisted on Berry's fifth goal of the season at 3:32.
 
The Monarchs would answer back with a surge of energy and draw a penalty of their own at 8:15. The Wilkes penalty kill did a good job keeping play to the perimeter of the ice and away from high-danger areas in front of their goaltender Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY/).
 
During the King's man advantage, an attempted clear by the Colonels took an unexpected bounce off a stanchion. The puck landed right on the stick of Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/), who found himself on a two-on-one with  Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA/). Carlson moved the puck over to Cocchi, who was stopped by the extended pad of Monarchs goaltender Diego D'Alessandro on a golden scoring opportunity.
 
Jayden Baldinelli would even the score after a Brandon Krawczyk poke-check freed the puck from a Colonel stick. The Monarchs quickly transitioned into their attacking zone, setting up Baldinelli to bury a one-timer. Krawczyk and Cameron Bauer were credited with assists on the 1-1 goal at 14:36
 
Wilkes headed back to the power play for the third time in the opening frame at 17:42 and looked to reclaim the lead before the end of the period. An off-target shot by King's ricocheted off the boards and was scooped up in the neutral zone by Daniel Nau (Wake Forest, NC). Nau dropped the puck back to a trailing Carlson, who delivered a laser of a shot to the top right corner of the net. Carlson's fifth of the season came at 18:26 with Nau and Swain picking up assists.
 
After 20 minutes of play, the Colonels returned to their dressing room leading 2-1.
 
Midway through the second period, Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep) juggled the puck up and over a Monarch defenseman before racing into the King's zone on a three-on-one with Cocchi and Swain. O'Kane fed Swain a coast-to-coast pass, which he whistled past D'Alessandro at 9:36. O'Kane picked up a helper on the 3-1 marker.
 
Despite their lead, the Colonel skaters continued to relentlessly pursue the puck through all three zones of play. While the Monarchs moved towards Paterson-Jones' crease, a back-check by Swain allowed Wilkes to shift onto the attack. O'Kane charged into the offensive zone and saucered a pass to Cocchi, who subsequently tapped the puck back to Swain. Swain lit the lamp for the second time to extend the Colonel lead to 4-1. Cocchi recorded an assist on the play at 10:16.
 
Wilkes found themselves on yet another odd-man rush in the final minutes of the second period. After taking the puck up the ice, Carlson faked a shot that got the Monarch goalie out of position before delivering a back-hand pass to the tape of Patrick Roginski's (Shelby Twp., MI/) stick. Roginski finished his scoring chance on the open net at 17:34. Carlson collected an assist on the 5-1 play; his third point of the night.
 
The Colonels managed to tack on their fourth goal of the period with under a minute remaining. A shot by Cocchi created a loose rebound in front of the Monarch crease. While both teams scrambled to claim possession, Swain located the puck through a forest of legs and notched his third goal of the game at 19:28 to complete the hat trick. Cocchi was awarded an assist on the play.
 
Wilkes would head into the intermission with a comfortable 6-1 lead.
 
King's would lock down defensively in the third period, only allowing eight Colonel shots to reach their goaltender.
 
The Monarchs cut their deficit at 12:44 into the final frame when Baldinelli received a pass from behind the net while crashing towards goal. He beat Paterson-Jones to the glove side to make it a 6-2 game. Bauer and Krawczyk once again collected assists on Baldinelli's second goal of the game.
 
Both teams were able to hold their opposition at bay for the remainder of regulation time. The final buzzer sounded with Wilkes still in firm control of a 6-2 lead.
 
Swain stole the show for the Colonels, posting a four-point performance (3 G, 1 A) as well as five shots on goal. Carlson and Cocchi each recorded two points while winning 11 and 10 faceoffs respectively. Jungwirth, Mason Vonk (West Olive, MI/) and Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ/) prevented pucks from reaching the net with two blocks apiece. Paterson-Jones made 15 saves for Wilkes in the victory.
 
Baldinelli netted two goals for the Monarchs on three shots. Bauer led the team with four shots on goal and collected two assists along with Krawczyk. D'Alessandro and Matt Bidini made a combined 20 saves on the evening.
 
The Colonels wrap up the home-and-home with King's College on Sunday, November 26 at the Toyota SportsPlex. Puck drop is slated for 3:30 p.m.