Following a Halloween weekend win against the Montclair State University Red Hawks, the NYU hockey team was home Friday night to face-off against Michigan State University at Chelsea Piers.

The Violets found themselves down early when MSU scored just 1:50 in. They dug themselves a deeper hole at 5:14 when they allowed a tip-in to go down 2-0. The bad luck kept on rolling when soon after, MSU had the man-advantage when sophomore forward Michael Conslato got called for holding, but the Violets coolly and calmly killed the penalty.

In the second frame, the Violets got on the scoreboard thanks to sophomore forward Steven Esposito, who netted a goal 4:15 into the period. The goal lit a fire under the Violets, who scrambled midway through the second to attempt the equalizer, but they could not capitalize. It was MSU who finished the period off with a goal, making the score 3-1.

After many fruitless attempts and a lot of net traffic, the Violets managed to get within one with 3:41 left in the second thanks to freshman forward Keaton Baum. Unfortunately, despite a strong effort and a pulled goalie, the Violets could not pull even with the Spartans, finishing Friday’s game with a 3-2 loss.

Looking to bounce back, the team was back on the ice Saturday night against Central Connecticut State University in Newington, Connecticut.

Following a similar trend to Friday’s games, the Violets found themselves quickly down by two in the first period. Freshman forward Max Devorris brought them back within one late in the period. CCSU scored with just three seconds remaining in the frame, restoring their two-goal lead and capturing all the momentum going into the second period.

Things got a tad messy for the Violets in the second frame when junior defenseman Evan Ripley was dealt a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. The Violets couldn’t catch a break, as CCSU netted their fourth on the night during the man-advantage. The two teams then traded too-many-men penalties. The Violets killed theirs while the Blue Devils did not, and Conslato coolly finished on the powerplay, reducing the lead to 4-2.

Of course a few more penalties ensued before the games’ end, as well as a third NYU goal in their effort to complete the comeback. But alas, the final buzzer sounded with the scoreboard frozen on 4-3 CCSU. After their two losses, Head Coach Chris Cosentino remained positive about the Violets’ season, but touched on the troubles of having to correct team issues on the fly during a season.

“We have seen positives in every game, but each game also presents areas that need more attention,” Cosentino said. “The main thing right now is that we stay focused and believe in the process.”

The Violets will be looking to correct their mistakes next weekend in away games against the University of New Hampshire and Boston College, before coming home the following weekend to take on Northeastern at the Sky Rink in Chelsea Piers.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov. 9 print edition. Email Rachel Ruecker at [email protected].