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Hockey – Division I

The Pitt hockey team headed into its first playoff game in a new… Hockey – Division I

The Pitt hockey team headed into its first playoff game in a new conference on a hot streak, but was soon cooled off on its home ice by Duquesne.

The Panthers (10-20-1), at six, were the lowest seeded team in the playoffs, and they faced off against the Dukes, who were seeded third. In the first ever playoff game for the College Hockey Mid America Conference, the Dukes disposed of the Panthers 5-2.

Although the Panthers out-shot the Dukes, 9-4, in the first period, Duquesne finished the period strong with a power-play goal, giving it a 1-0 advantage. Another goal early in the second period would give the Dukes a two-goal lead.

But the Panthers didn’t let their cross-town rivals run away with the game. Sophomore Ryan Severyn would bring Pitt within one, as he scored the first goal for the Panthers in Division I playoff hockey.

A second period in which both teams traded goals ended with Duquesne leading, 3-2. The third period saw the Dukes start a train of momentum that would vault them to a league title. Scoring two unanswered goals in the final period, Duquesne defeated Pitt by final score of 5-2. They would then steamroll through the rest of the tournament for the championship.

“They just caught fire in the second half [of the season],” Rieck said of the first-ever league champs.

The Panthers were also competing in their first year as a member of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, Division I, moving up from Division II by participating in the inaugural season of the CHMA. Even though the season ended earlier than he wanted, Coach Rieck said his team is ready to compete with the more talented teams.

“Last year, we played a number of teams we knew we were going to beat up on. This year, every game was a battle, but I think we did very well,” he said.

Of the six highest point totals for Pitt this year, five of them came from players who are underclassmen. The Panthers also won four of their last five games in the regular season.

“We got significantly better as the season went on,” Rieck said.

— Adam Littman

Men’s Lacrosse

The Pitt men’s lacrosse team split a pair of matchups over the weekend, losing to Buffalo Friday, 10-9, and beating Purdue Sunday, 16-9.

Although trailing Buffalo (2-0), 7-2, at halftime of Friday night’s game, Pitt (2-1) rallied for six goals in the third quarter to lead heading into the fourth. But Buffalo soon recovered and held on for the narrow win.

Eamonn Brady led the way for Pitt with two goals and two assists, while Andrew Solarz added two goals and one assist.

On Sunday, it was the Panthers who shot out to an early lead against Purdue, scoring four unanswered goals to start the first period. But Purdue scored four goals of its own in the second half to tie the score at four heading into halftime. But after the half, the Panthers put the Boilermakers away.

Jason Faber led Pitt with four goals and an assist, while Brady added another two goals. Chris Logan also scored three goals for Pitt.

— Pat Mitsch