After a long winter break, Yeshiva was back in action this weekend with three conference matches. Entering the second half of the season with a #8 national ranking, Yeshiva had no choice but to prove themselves against three tough teams. With games versus the SUNY Oswego Lakers at 7am, the Syracuse University Orange at 10am, and the Hofstra University Pride at 12pm, Yeshiva had its hands full.
 
In game one, Yeshiva took on a rolling Oswego team with a red hot goaltender. Having won both their games Saturday, it didn't take "The Lake Show" long to put one by Yeshiva goaltender Joseph Robin, which they did just over a minute into the predawn matchup. A power play snipe by Donny Fuchs later in the period tied it at one, but a quick answer by Oswego put the Macs down 2-1. With just under a minute left in the first, Jake Ratzker slammed in a rebound to send both teams to the locker room tied at two. After a scoreless second period, Oswego took a two-goal lead, thanks to back-to-back goals on odd man rushes. A late goal by Moshe Genuth put Yeshiva within one, but the surge ran out of time and Yeshiva fell to SUNY Oswego 4-3. The game was immensely close, and despite the loss Yeshiva played well, with several almost sure goals either ringing off the pipe or being impossibly robbed by the Lakers' goalie. The loss didn't discourage Yeshiva though, and after a quick break to pray Shacharit, they were back at it for game two against Syracuse. 
 
Facing a tough Syracuse squad, Yeshiva jumped off to a quick start thanks to goals from Donny Fuchs and Matthew Carl. A slick move by Ratzker on a forced turnover by Ari Drazin put Yeshiva up 3-0 just four minutes in, and a Drazin finish on a Ratzker sauce made it 4-0. The first ended with Yeshiva up 4-1 thanks to a shorthanded goal by 'Cuse, but nevertheless a great start for the Macs. After another scoreless second, Syracuse put one in with just under 4 minutes left in the game. It didn't take long for another Drazin to Ratzker dish to put Yeshiva back up by three, but that was soon negated by another Orange goal. With 30 seconds left and an empty net, Drazin put it safely away, handing Yeshiva a 6-3 victory.
 
Just an hour after Yeshiva skated off against Syracuse, they were back at it to take on the #16 ranked Hofstra University Pride. After surrendering another early goal, Ratzker poked one in on the power play to tie it at one. In the second period, Yeshiva put in another goal on the power play, courtesy of Ratzker once again, but the game was soon tied up by Hofstra. A Pride goal put Yeshiva in a 3-2 hole to start the third, but another power play snipe by Fuchs tied it at three. A quick answer by Hofstra meant the Macs were down a goal with only a few minutes left. But aggressive play in front of the net led to yet another Ratzker goal, tying the game in the dying minutes and capping off Ratzker's hatty. Despite not seeing any of their games go to overtime yet this season, Yeshiva handled the action with composure. And after eight minutes of scoreless play, Drazin drew a hooking penalty, setting up a huge 3-on-2 opportunity for Yeshiva. Although quite a few well set up opportunities were denied, with only two seconds left on the power play, Fuchs finished a pretty Genuth dish to win it for Yeshiva in overtime. An impressive effort by the Yeshiva skaters coupled with another outstanding showing by stud goalie Joseph Robin meant a solid weekend for Yeshiva, who now sit in first place atop the Eastern Conference.
 
Yeshiva is in action next on Sunday, February 11th at Choice Inline in Sewell, NJ. They take on Drexel at 9am and Penn State at 12pm. Follow them throughout the season for live updates, game information, and lots of other fun stuff! Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/yurollerhockey), Twitter (@yurollerhockey), Instagram (@yurollerhockey), and Snapchat (yurollerhockey).