By Anthony Gulizia, News Correspondent

Despite suffering a 3-1 loss Friday, the men’s hockey team edged past Merrimack 2-1 at Matthews Arena Saturday night, recording its third split this season. Spectators witnessed the incredible performance of freshman goaltender Bryan Mountain. Notching his first collegiate victory, Mountain turned away the Warriors 24 times Saturday.
The highlight of the night came late in the first period as Merrimack threatened to score, Mountain made a save, and then denied the following rebound with an incredible stick save, swatting the puck away at the last second as it hung in the air. His efforts Saturday night were impressive to say the least, and have earned him the honors of Huntington News Player of the Week.
Earning his first start for the Huskies Friday, Mountain was unable to tally his first victory but was not discouraged by the 3-1 loss. He bounced back Saturday night, shutting down Merrimack in a 2-1 victory for the Huskies.
‘It felt good to get my first win at home,’ Mountain said. ‘As a kid, I’ve always dreamed of playing Division I hockey, and it was nice to pull out a close win with the team.’
Assistant coach Albie O’Connell attributed Mountain’s success on Saturday to his focus, athleticism and patience.
‘Basically, he [Mountain] had to wait his turn and when it came, he was ready to go,’ O’Connell said. ‘He was thrown in Friday with little preparation and we did a good job defensively, we just didn’t score. But he’s a focused kid, and came back Saturday and made every save he needed to win the game.’
Mountain attributed his success to his confidence in the team going into Saturday night’s game.
‘As a team, we rarely lose two games in a row,’ Mountain said. ‘I hadn’t started a game in a while, and I felt I played well Friday night, and didn’t miss a step fundamentally. I was able to carry that confidence into Saturday night’s game.’
As a freshman, it can be a difficult transition into college hockey and college classes, but Mountain said he is doing fine. He attended prep school at Milton Academy in Milton after attending Valley High School in New Kinsington, Penn., taking as many classes as he could to stay focused as he entered college. To his advantage, the smooth transition has allowed him to concentrate more on hockey and maintain focus. From a hockey standpoint, Mountain faced a little bit of a change.
‘I played juniors for a year and we played a very busy 64-game schedule,’ he said. ‘At the college level, we practice much more than play and that leaves a lot of time to develop and condition myself.’
When he’s off the ice, Mountain enjoys playing the guitar as well as spending time with his friends and teammates. An athlete his entire life, Mountain played many sports, but said hockey and football were his favorites. In high school, Mountain was a three-sport athlete ‘- he played football, hockey, and ran track.
In the future, he said he would like to play hockey as long as he can, but still focus on his education. Mountain is majoring in criminal justice, but said he also has interest in marketing and business.
‘I want to play hockey until somebody tells me I can’t play anymore,’ Mountain said. ‘But school’s also very important to me. That’s why I’m here, and my family takes it very seriously.’