At home at the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink for another weekend, the NYU hockey team hoped to extend its winning streak Friday against Montclair State University and Saturday against Sacred Heart University.

Friday, the Violets topped MSU in stunning fashion, remaining dominant throughout and earning freshman goaltender Adam Salisbury the 6-0 shutout. The team began slow and steady, but after building some momentum, sophomore forward Mason Gallegos got the Violets on the board. That was all the scoring the first would call for, but NYU had a strong lead in shots on goal after one, leading 20-6.

They began the second finishing up a too many men penalty, but quickly wound up back on the kill when junior forward Michael Conslato got sent to the sin bin for interference at 1:13. It became a 4-on-4 soon after, but neither team could capitalize.

Later in the frame, senior forward David Morgan put the Violets ahead by another and soon after, freshman forward Brandon Ritchey had NYU leading 3-0. That’s where the score stayed heading into the third, when things really came alive. The Violets again heavily outshot the Red Hawks 19-4.

After an early 4-on-4, Ritchey got his second of the game and the Violets’ fourth, with assists coming from senior defenseman Evan Ripley and Morgan. The offensive onslaught persevered when sophomore forward Jack Orne scored NYU’s fifth, with helpers to Ritchey and Morgan.

Morgan headed to the penalty box at 16:28, inspiring Gallegos to get a shorthanded goal to put an exclamation point at the end of an already strong night for the Violets.

Saturday night, the competition was much tighter against the Pioneers in a game they dropped 5-4. SHU struck first, scoring on junior goaltender Calvin Burkhart at 2:03. The Violets caught up exactly midway through the frame thanks to Conslato. Soon after, NYU notched a second, this one coming from weekend standout Ritchey just moments after failing to capitalize on a power play.

NYU stayed hot when sophomore forward John Kowalewski moved the Violets ahead 3-1 at 14:29. The Pioneers got within one at 15:53, but NYU restored their two goal lead on an Orne goal late in the frame. After a high-scoring first, NYU outshot Sacred Heart 19-7.

Sacred Heart was not finished, however, and earned their third goal at 7:32 in the second. After plenty of visits to the box for both teams, Sacred Heart tied the game with only 30 seconds left in the second, to make for an interesting third.

The Pioneers successfully killed a pair of penalties early in the second and managed to get one past the Violets at 13:07, which proved to be the game winner. This was the Violets’ first loss of 2017.

Morgan was pleased with the increase in offensive output shown this weekend but also thought the loss to Sacred Heart was a welcome reality check prior to the playoffs.

“I thought we had a good weekend altogether,” Morgan said. “We had been struggling to score more than three goals in a game and this weekend we put together two games where we scored four or more. We gave Sacred Heart way too many great scoring chances. They capitalized and we came up short. I think it’s good to get a loss in before playoffs start. It’s definitely a good wake up call for us and it’s a feeling we don’t want to have again for the rest of the season. If it takes a loss late in the season to remind us of that feeling, then so be it. We’ll bounce back and finish off the season strong.”

The Violets will be back home at the Sky Rink for their final game of the regular season Friday, Feb. 10 at 8:30 p.m.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 6 print edition. Email Rachel Ruecker at [email protected].