After a rousing start to its season, the Violet hockey team was back on the ice, beginning their efforts in Amherst on Saturday against the University of Massachusetts, topping the Minutemen 3-2 before heading to Durham where they defeated the University of New Hampshire Wildcats 3-2 in overtime.

Saturday against UMass, NYU was on the kill early but bounced back when junior defenseman Charles Arsenescu opened the Violets’ 2017 scoring midway through the first to put NYU to the advantage. NYU continued to display a dominant first frame through two 4-on-4s, closing the first up 4-on-3 and with a 12-6 advantage in shots.

After failing to capitalize on a two-man advantage, sophomore forward Mason Gallegos notched NYU’s second 1:57 into the period. After heading to the box themselves, they were gifted another power play and earned their third goal on it, from junior forward Michael Conslato.

The second continued to be replete with penalties to both teams, with NYU ending the period on the penalty kill and UMass making some moves.

The third was a doozy in terms of penalties. After killing the 1:09 they had remaining on their carried over penalty from the second, there were seldom a full 12 on the ice. UMass finally got theirs while Conslato was serving a double minor to put them on the board. They got within one with three minutes to spare and desperately tried to earn the tying goal, but the Violets pulled through for their first win of 2017.

In Sunday’s afternoon match against UNH, the Violets started strong with a power play opportunity and though they didn’t manage to score on the man advantage, they did soon after. The first period ended with the teams at four men apiece and NYU with a massive 15-6 lead in shots.

After a scrambly second, which included the successful kill of a 4-on-3, NYU found themselves down 2-1, their first time trailing in 2017.

All hope was not lost.

6:14 into the third, Clutch-Kid Conslato tied things at two. At the final buzzer things remained undecided and so the game headed to overtime. Sophomore forward Keaton Baum was the overtime hero to keep the Violets perfect in their first weekend back.

Freshman forward Brandon Ritchey was pleased with the competitiveness the team showed on the road.

“Goaltending really stepped up this weekend,” Ritchey said. “I felt that this was a weekend where we really came together as a team, we just need to continue to trust the process through our final stretch of home games as we prepare for playoffs.”

The Violets will be back home with their raucous fans at the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink this Friday to face off against Central Connecticut State University.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Jan. 23 print edition. Email Rachel Ruecker at [email protected].