Delaware had a big opportunity to climb up the division ladder as they faced #7 Stony Brook. Despite being able to dominate action and outshoot Stony Brook at times, the Blue Hens could not overcome the opportunistic Stony Brook offense and 75 minutes of penalties.
About halfway through the first period, Stony Brook went on the power play after Delaware was called for holding. Frank Sherding fired a shot from the blue line that beat Blue Hen goalie Dylan Troiano high stick side.
With less than seven minutes left in the 1st period, the Blue Hens would respond. Steve Braun carried the puck into Stony Brook’s zone after a Stony Brook turnover. A centering pass found its way to Cole Zucker, who was able to beat Stony Brook Goalie Derek Wilms to get his 14th goal of the season.
Stony Brook senior Sam Brewster harassed the Blue Hens in front of their net and was eventually able to get the puck. He got a shot off and teammate Justin Lazalde was able to score off the deflection to give Stony Brook the 2-1 lead.
With a minute and thirty seconds left in the first period, Stony Brook star Ryan Cotcamp got the puck on a 3-1 rush. He buried the goal to give Stony Brook the 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Early in the second period, the Blue Hens eventually gave up a costly penalty. Joseph Bochichio made a centering pass to Senior Vincent Lopes who was able to score to make the game 4-1.
With close to a minute left in the second period, the Blue Hens would respond. Vinny Zingarelli was able to score his sixth goal of the season off his own rebound to make it a 4-2 game heading into the 2nd intermission.
The Blue Hens ramped up the intensity in the third. They managed a couple of power play chances, but could not break through to make it a single goal game. They dominated action in the period, and looked just as good as #7 Stony Brook, but just could not find a way to beat Stony Brook goaltender Derek Wilms. Stony Brook eventually got an empty netter at the end of the third for a 5-2 final score.
Penalties had a big part of the outcome. The Blue Hens had 12 minutes of penalties that gave Stony Brook six chances on the power play.
On Sunday, the Blue Hens were able to get the first goal. They got a turnover in the offensive zone and Blue Hen Sophomore John Redgate was able to beat Stony Brook goalie Brendan Jones to score his seventh goal of the season.
With 4:50 left in the first period, Stony Brook went on the power play. They took advantage of the open ice as Stony Brook defender Chris Joseph scored deep inside the slot to tie the game at 1-1.
The Blue Hens looked like the better team when action returned to even strength, but could not find a way to capitalize off it. Delaware was able to out shoot Stony Brook, but could not translate this into goals.
The second period went Stony Brook’s way, and they managed to grab three goals. Kevin Barry, Sam Brewster and Nick Barbara scored to make the game 4-1 heading into the second intermission.
Stony Brook would score again on the power play in the third period to make it a final score of 5-1.
Delaware and Stony Brook both had 37 shots on Sunday. Stony Brook, who has 81 goals against division opponents, did a great job of converting those shots into goals.
Stony Brook got fantastic play out of their goalies. On Saturday, Derek Wilms got 33 saves off of 35 shots. On Sunday, Brendan Jones made 36 saves from 37 shots.
The Blue Hens have a busy weekend ahead of them. They play Lebanon Valley for a home and home and then play West Chester on Sunday. The Saturday game will be at the Fred Rust arena and the puck is expected to drop at 2:00 PM.
By: Tyler Fitzpatrick
