The UD D1 Men’s hockey team had a triumphant weekend, taking on the Temple University Owls on Friday and the Towson University Tigers on Saturday in two intense, high-scoring games. The Blue Hens were on the road both nights, traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then Towson, Maryland.
Friday night’s game began with four Delaware goals by four different Blue Hens. Forward #12 Colin Emerich opened up the night with a goal off of #16 Kevin Felice two minutes into the game. Less than a minute later, #23 Devin Jenny, off of an assist from #8 Cam Piorkowski, put another one past Temple’s goalie. Temple left the goals unanswered all of the first period, letting another two goals in. The first by #19 Jake DeFares off of Felice at 16:46, and the second by #13 Chris Mazzella off of teammates #5 Harrison Good and #22 Michael Nisky. The 4-0 lead leaving the first period indicated the Blue Hens weren’t leaving without a win.
In the second period, Temple tried to catch up with two goals, one coming in at 5:44 and the other at 19:02. #6 Harrison Chuma, capitalizing off of an assist from #5 Harrison Good, advanced the Blue Hens lead, leaving the Owls eating ice shavings as the teams entered the third period with Delaware in the lead 5-2.
Nisky set the final tone for what would be an 11-3 blowout with a goal only one minute into the third period off a pass from DeFares. Only a few minutes later, Mazzella cashed in on help from #39 Pierce Lamberton, scoring his second goal of the evening. Temple continued chasing after the puck, falling behind in a 7-2 Blue Hen lead. 11:07 into the third period, #7 Jack Zimmer scored his own goal with an assist from Piorkowski. Temple’s Charles Ghiazza, seeking to close the gap and maintain morale, scored his second goal of the night, but the team still wasn’t able to keep up. 59 seconds after, freshman #10 Ryan Burns scored his own goal, assisted by DeFares and #25 Jake Nimeh. With three minutes left in regulation, Felice took an opportunity off passes from #26 Brian Ostrander and Colin Emerich to put the 10th goal past Temple’s goalie. And finally, in a very Mazzella-like fashion, with only FOUR SECONDS left in regulation (talk about kicking a man while he’s down), Mazz scored the final goal of the night and the third in his hat-trick. A beautiful way to end a successful victory for the Blue Hens.
After the game, Devin Jenny gave us his thoughts on the game, “We played well, and showed we were the better team from start to finish. It was the first game all season where we really just put a team away early on and I think we especially needed that.”
“We had to stay focused on our strengths as a team to get the job done, and we fulfilled that for most of the game, but we still have a lot of work ahead of us before we can get comfortable” – Harrison Good
Saturday’s game against Towson was another large win for Delaware. Mazzella started off the night with a goal, assisted by #2 Adrian Rodriguez and #22 Michael Nisky. Towson wouldn’t tie the game until 9 minutes into the second period. Two minutes after, Jake Nimeh brought the Blue Hens back into the lead with a goal off of Piorkowski and Zimmer. Shortly after, with his first ever goal as a Delaware Blue Hen, #18 Cal Raymore capitalized off of passes from #37 Gavin Hulser and #17 Mike Racioppi, putting another tally on the board. In the final second of the second period, Nisky, assisted by Ostrander, shot the last goal going into the third.
Two Delaware goals in the third put away the Tigers for good. The first, shot by Chris Mazzella, was assisted by DeFares. The second was shot by Colin Emerich, assisted by captain Mike Zidansek and Mazzella. The final score was 6-1.
“It was good to see all four lines going out there, working together and bringing back a victory. It really makes a difference,” stated freshman Cal Raymore on Saturday’s game.
“We got to see a lot of puck-moving skills, and our transitions on the ice really helped us open opportunities to score.” – Mike Racioppi
The Blue Hens are off this weekend for the holidays but will be back and ready to take on Stony Brook University on December 1st and December 2nd at the Rinx in Stony Brook, New York. Follow the team updates on our website and our social media sites!
Twitter: @udhockey
Instagram: @udicehockey
Facebook: University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey
Written by: Daniella Fioretti
Photograph by: Julianna Hansen-Fliedner
