SEWELL, N.J. - The Yeshiva University Roller Hockey team opened its season with a three game tournament in South Jersey, this past Sunday. Fresh off back-to-back Elite Eight finishes in the National Tournament, the Macs were eager to begin their fourth season with another hot start.

Yeshiva's first game of the day came at 8am and was against the talented Drexel University Dragons. After a heartbreaking Overtime loss in the pre-season, Yeshiva was looking for some revenge as cold as the weather, as well as an opportunity to start the season out on the right foot. 

The Macs struck first when Moshe Genuth deflected a shot from Captain Benjy Shulman in the middle of the inaugural period, but Drexel soon answered back with a tally of its own. A second period goal put the Dragons up 2-1, but a quick answer from Genuth tied it up. Daniel Bordan finished a sweet sauce from David Soffer on the power play to give YU a 3-2 lead, and with just a few minutes left in the second, rookie d-man Zev Markowitz put in his own rebound to hand the Macs a 4-2 advantage. An action-packed third period soon followed, and despite another goal from Drexel, Yeshiva held on for a 4-3 win, thanks largely to clutch backstopping by Scott Weissman in his goaltending debut. 

Up next at 11am was the 6-0 Endicott College Gulls. Widely considered a top team in the league, the Gulls were sure to be a worthwhile opponent for the Maccabees as they have been in past seasons.

The match did not start out the way Yeshiva had hoped as Endicott put in three before Genuth finally broke through on the power play. The Macs entered the second period behind 3-1, and despite good puck possession and a plethora of opportunities, the Macs were unable to get another goal in the second, and saw themselves behind 6-1, after two periods of play. The final period proved to be equally futile as Yeshiva essentially traded goals and eventually fell to Endicott, 9-3. Third period markers from Shulman and Bordan did little to counteract the offensive firepower of the run and gun Gulls, and despite the score, rookie goalie Josh Markowitz looked solid in his first appearance.

The third and final game of the day was a 1pm contest vs. the Temple University Owls. A never before seen opponent for Yeshiva, Temple wasted little time, putting their first shot behind Weissman, just seven seconds in. The Macs were undeterred though, as Genuth soon tied it back up on the power play. Captain Benjy came up big yet again with a top shelf snipe as Yeshiva headed to the locker room sporting a 2-1 lead. Genuth's silky mittens put the Macs up two, but another answer by the Owls resulted in a 3-2 score after two periods of play. Strong goaltending by Weissman kept YU up a score, but a late goal by Temple tied it up and sent the tilt into OT. After an action-packed overtime, the game was still even and went into a shootout. On three tries a piece, Temple converted once while YU was unable to, resulting in a 4-3 shootout loss for the Macs, but nonetheless rewarding Yeshiva with a point for a non-regulation loss.

Despite three tough matchups against three talented teams, the Macs walked away with three points and a 1-1-1 record. While the opener didn't go exactly as well as Yeshiva could have hoped, as they say, there's still plenty of hockey left to play...

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