Lebanon Valley 8, Chatham 4
 
LVC Starters
Nolan (LW), Johnson (C), Sneath (RW), Romel (D), Balodis (D), Perhac (G)
 
Chatham Starters
Bell (LW), Hildebrand (C), Bellafiore (RW), Ho (D), Allingmon (D), Gonzalez (G)
 
How It Happened
HERSHEY, Pa. – Brett Johnson and Bryan Hovanec each reached a career milestone as Lebanon Valley doubled up Chatham 8-4 to remain in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) postseason hunt on Friday night. The Flying Dutchmen also celebrated its seniors on Senior Night. LVC now sits at 8-14-2, 6-9-2 UCHC, while the Cougars dropped to 5-17-2, 3-13-1 UCHC.
 
The Dutchmen didn't waste much time and set the tone early when Danny Galvez found the back of the net from Bryan Hovanec and Tyler Romel 4:29 into the opening period to give LVC a 1-0 lead. Then, less than two minutes later, Brett Johnson scored from TJ Sneath to make it 2-0. The goal for Johnson was his 100th career point. Midway through the opening period, Hovanec scored his first of the game for his second point of the period from Johnson and Brad Nolan to make it 3-0. Chatham got one back, however, when Eric Hildebrand scored, but with 1:02 remaining in the first, Justin Hall beat Ricardo Gonzalez off assists from Galvez and Hovanec to make it a 4-1 game after just one period of play. With the assist, Hovanec joined Johnson as a member of the 100-career point club.
 
The craziness carried over into the second period and the scoring didn't stop. 2:17 into the middle period, Sneath found the back of the net on the power play from Johnson and Nolan to make it a 5-1 game. From there, the Cougars went on to net three straight to make things interesting and bring the score to 5-4 midway through the period. John Wendling then got in on the action and put the Dutchmen back up by two thanks to an unassisted score, and Cole Hepler then score a short-handed goal from Johnson and Tyler Romel, giving LVC a three-goal advantage at 7-4 heading into the third.
 
LVC's defense stepped up in the third period and didn't allow any sort of Chatham comeback. J. Hall helped with his second of the day 3:39 into the third from Hovanec and Zach Yingst, as the Dutchmen went on to cruise for the remainder of the period and pick up the key 8-4 victory.
 
Inside the Numbers
 - Johnson and Hovanec finished with a goal and three assists each.
 - Nolan and Romel chipped in a pair of assists, and Romel skated to a +4 rating.
 - Zach Balodis was also a +4 tonight.
 - J. Hall ended with a pair of goals on two shots.
 - Tyler Perhac earned the victory between the pipes and made six saves in 26:20 of action.
 - LVC dominated in faceoffs at 39-17.
 - Hepler went 14-for-19 from inside the faceoff circle.
 - Alex Borowiec and Johnson were 8-for-12 each in faceoffs.

Senior Night
Before tonight's game, LVC honored its seniors in Brad Nolan, Bryan Hovanec, Travis Hall, Mike Straub, Brett Johnson, Travis Acker, John Wendling, and TJ Sneath. Below is what head coach Don Parsons had to say about each player.

Nolan
"My recruitment for Brad started about three years before his actual freshman year. From the time I first saw him play for the Philly Revolution, I knew he would be a special player. He was an instrumental component for our run at Nationals and always an offensive threat anytime on the ice that season and carried that impact through his four years at the Valley. Not only is Brad a tremendous hockey player, but even better young man off the ice. Brad rarely missed a practice in four years, which in  and of itself is quite miraculous, let alone that he carries a GPA close to 4.0 as a neuroscience major! I am extremely proud of what he has been able to accomplish and very confident that a bright future is in store for Brad!"

Hovanec
"Bryan, you are one of the smartest players away from the puck that I have ever seen. You have the ability to know just where you need to be,  to put yourself in a scoring situation. I will never forget your first recruit trip to Hershey Park arena! You skated with the team and they all said "coach, we need to get this kid!" and by the look in your eyes, looking around the arena, I was pretty sure we got you! There are a ton of memories but the best is the penalty shot with eight seconds at Nationals. Score and we go to overtime, miss and we go home. Back hand, Forehand……GOAL! We have seen it many times since. Better than all that is your smile and personality off the ice. Not much seems to phase you, good or bad. You are a never too high, never too low kind of guy, which is very admirable. It has been a pleasure to know you Bryan and wish you well in all you do!"

T. Hall
"There isn't a bad thing anyone could say about Travis. He comes to the rink every day willing to work and wanting to get better. Travis is one of the smartest players that I have had the opportunity to coach, even though his footwork may have limited him a bit, we were always confident in Travis because he was smarter than the game! Travis is one of the few at this level to be able to see ahead of the play and able to act accordingly. I will miss the days that an hour after practice, I would walk into the locker room and Travis would still be sitting there in his equipment and always greet me with a big "Hi Coach"! Travis, I will forever walk through the room and always think of you. I wish you the best of luck in all you do even though you wont need it!"

Straub
"Dedication and leadership are two words that come to mind when I think about you Mike. Mike has been our Captain here for two years and a captain since his sophomore year and even though he didn't wear a letter freshman year, his team mates looked up to him as a captain anyway. You are a warrior Mike, always willing to do the dirty work for betterment of the team. Always a leader by example through practice, games and in the weight room there isn't anything he wouldn't do for his teammates. I will miss the subtle games we play during practice and the side jokes and jabs we had! You are truly one of the Best captains I have coached here at LVC and hope that you carry that leadership quality in the next stages of life."

Johnson
"I will never forget the phone conversation we had two weeks before school started back in 2016.
You called me and said, "Coach, I want to transfer to LVC" With that I said, I don't know who you are but we can use another forward, however no promises!" With that your reply was…"I'm not worried about that coach", and rightfully so! You are the most talented hockey player that I have had the fortune of coaching! I'm not going to lie though as you came in a little immature and not the best mindset which worried our staff a bit! We had a few conversations that first semester and that's when you finally got it! By the end of that first season you grew and earned the respect of our coaching staff and more importantly your team mates. Brett you are an amazing young man, always fun to be around and always brighten up a room. On top of all that Brett, your skill set has been so fun to watch and I wish you all the best as you chase your dream! I want you to know that the "Johnson rule" will forever be in place here at LVC!"

Wendling
"John, although your time here at LVC was short, I have been very fortunate to have known you since you were a spry 15 year old as I was able to coach you as a 16AAA player. And let me tell you…not much has changed in your style since then. Like Straub, you are a warrior and always put your team mates first. You want to protect everyone at any cost even if it hurts you! My favorite memory of you didn't occur here at LVC but at a hockey rink somewhere in Drummondville Quebec. Lets just say…You got your feet wet with the biggest, toughest and strongest player on the other team. However, the best part of that memory was you, all game asking me "coach, can I go get him?" me thinking "no John, you have never fought before and that's all they do up here" I finally gave in after the 27^th time you asked and you went out and lets just say, it was interesting! Personally John, I couldn't be any happier that you have found your way back to what you love doing, Serving your country! You are the definition of "soldier" and will make our country a safe place to live."

Sneath
"TJ, I remember the first time I saw you play was at a showcase in Tampa and said to myself boy would I like to have that kid play for us, however at that time We were just ACHA team at that time and I knew you were out of my reach. Two years later I received a phone call from your old coach asking if I would be interested in TJ Sneath. There was no hesitation as I said how do we get this done! Your pride and determination is unmatched to become the best hockey player you can possibly become. What I am most proud of the fact that you saw the big picture and realized that offense alone wasn't going to get you where you want to go! You worked very hard to become a two dimensional player and earned spots as a top PK player as well as a most dependable defensive center when that duty called."
 
Playoff Push
With Neumann and Stevenson both losing tonight, LVC controls its own destiny heading into the final game of the season. The Dutchmen can reach the sixth and final seed of the UCHC Championship Tournament with a win in regulation over Stevenson tomorrow night.
 
Win or Go Home
It all comes down to this. LVC welcomes Stevenson to Hersheypark Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. A win in regulation by either team will propel that squad into the playoffs.
 
Stay Connected
Be sure to follow @lvcathletics on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage of LVC athletics.