The Golden Eagles gave head coach Joe Amplo a special homecoming of sorts to his old stomping grounds. Tyler Melnyk and Kyle Whitlow scored three goals each while goaltender JJ Sagl made eight saves as Marquette won an impressive 11-9 victory over Hofstra. It was their first win of the season while the Pride dropped their first season opener since 2010.
After the game, Amplo, who spent 12 years at Hofstra as a player, assistant coach, and associate coach before taking his first head coaching job, said today was not about his return to his roots, but the seven players from the metro area to theirs.
“It was more special for them because they don’t know my feelings for Hofstra,” said Amplo, who is now 6-9 in his second year as a head coach. “They just know that they are playing in front of their family and friends. It was more important for them.”
“It was like a dream come true,” said the goaltender Sagl. “We always dreamed of playing a big-time game at Hofstra in front of all our family, our friends, and it’s a dream come true. I could not be happier.”
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair with seven total goals scored. Ryan McNamara opened up the scoring at the 13:15 mark then Kyle Whitlow notched his first of the day on the extra-man opportunity. Drew Coholan scored Hofstra’s first goal of the season before Sam Llinares tied it up with 4:52 remaining in the first. Both teams traded goals before Melynk would score his first to end the first quarter.
The pace slowed down in the second but started to shift in Marquette’s favor. Melnyk would score the only goal of the second quarter on a drive inside with defenders converging on him. He took the soft contact and fired a shot diving forward that beat the goaltender Chris Selva for his second goal of the afternoon. On the other end, Hofstra’s offense would put on consistent pressure, but they were thwarted by Marquette’s keeper Sagl. His five saves in the quarter frustrated the Pride and swung momentum in his team’s favor as they went to the locker room with a 5-3 lead.
“I thought he played the best game of his career,” said Amplo.
Marquette picked up their play out of the halftime break similar to the strong snow flurries and wind that came down. Melnyk would complete the hat trick while Gately picked up his first of the game to extend the lead to 7-3.
For Hofstra, they came out sluggish on offense. They were unable to generate chances early in the third and turned the ball over multiple times.
“We failed to have some guys step up in some key moments,” said head coach Seth Tierney. “We had some shots that did not drop.”
Lance Yapor’s unassisted goal with 2:39 to play in the third broke Hofstra’s 29:46 scoreless streak. Mike Malave would follow that up over a minute later with his first of the year to cut the deficit to 7-5.
But Hofstra would get no closer.
Bryan Badolato’s goal to start the fourth quarter best exemplified the Golden Eagles execution and the Pride’s issues on defense. After short stick defender Anthony Zappone dislodged the ball from Melnyk’s stick, a scrum ensured. The Hofstra defense had two clean chances to grab the loose ball but could not. Badolato then scooped it up a few yards away from the crease and buried it. Malave would net his second goal of the day, but Marquette would score three of the next four goals to lead 11-7 with 4:20 left in the game. The Pride would get two back, but it would not matter.
It was expected their inexperienced close defense would have some growing pains, but they were outworked in their own end for the loose balls. Tierney said there were areas that, “a Hofstra team shouldn’t be beat.” Give credit to Marquette who earned those second chance opportunities on offense and capitalized on them.
“Our guys felt like that we were a step behind for whatever reason,” explained Tierney. “There were a couple of plays where they beat us on the ground and it led to a goal.”
“Those are those one goal plays that we talked about constantly since day one. There’s one goal game winning plays… The ball bouncing off our stick. We are a second late to a groundball. We do not get our hands free for a shot. With that being said, those are the scenarios that we have to work harder and we have to ramp it up a little bit.”
When Amplo took the job at Marquette, he brought in players of a certain mold that fit his style similar to his roots at Hofstra. He says he does not simply go out and recruit the best, but the right people on and off the field.
“My goal when we started was to go to the best high school programs that are consistently competing for championships,” he said. “Before recruiting great players, we recruit great people.”
Defenseman Liam Byrnes, a West Islip native, played a strong game in his own end. He caused four turnovers, two of which turned into goals, and contributed five groundballs. Sagl, another West Islip native, finished with nine stops on the afternoon. Amplo further explained that West Islip players, and others from competitive high school programs, have that mentality to fight and succeed.
“They know how to win,” he said. “They hold themselves and their teammates accountable to winning championships and to have that championship mentality.”
Marquette won the groundball category 36-28 and went 3-4 on the EMO. Hofstra outshot the Golden Eagles 37-30 and went 2-3 on their extra-man chances. Both face off men, Cullen Cassidy and Kris Clarke, split the draws 12-24, but Marquette’s wingers outplayed the Pride and contributed to their control of the ball.
While it is still early in the season, Amplo must teach his young squad how to handle success. Such an impressive win is a big motivational booster, but the head coach hopes his team can handle it the right way going forward.
“Confidence is a tough question to answer right now. We will see how it catapults into next week’s competition,” he said.
