For the second straight day, the Blue Hens played West Virginia in overtime. However, the result would not be the same for the Blue Hens as they came up short 3-2.
The first period started off on the right foot for the Blue Hens. Blue Hen Michael Conte forced a turnover in center ice and then fed Blue Hen Gabriel Colona the puck. Colona fired a shot from center ice and managed to hit the post. The puck bounced in the net and the Blue Hens had the 1-0 lead. When asked about the accurate shot, Colona replied, “I get lucky sometimes.”
West Virginia would pay the Blue Hens back in the first period. Points leader, Trey Bracy, won the battle on the boards and came up with the puck in the offensive zone. He made a beautiful centering pass to West Virginia defenseman Vincent Fornes, who scored to tie the game at 1-1.
Each team had a couple chances to score in the second period, but neither team could capitalize on them. The most important event of the second period was a penalty on West Virginia star Trey Bracy with six seconds left in the second.
The Blue Hens would capitalize on their chance in the third. Blue Hen forward Leo Skehan fired a shot from the slot that West Virginia goalie Eric Schaetzle managed to save. Blue Hen forward Marcello DeAngelis buried the rebound to make the game 2-1.
DeAngelis has responded well to being named a starter. He had an overtime goal in yesterday’s game. DeAngelis was productive in this game as well getting his 12th point of the season.
Later in the period, the Blue Hens put themselves in a tough situation. They took a couple penalties in a row to put themselves down by two men. West Virginia took advantage of the opportunity and scored to send the game into overtime.
This proved to be the Blue Hens downfall, as they could not respond after the goal. When asked about the penalties, and the game overall, Coach Rocky Romanella responded, “we beat ourselves.”
In overtime, Trey Bracy intercepted a Blue Hen pass at center ice. He flew into the Blue Hens zone and scored his 12th goal of the season to finish the game.
The Blue Hens will have plenty of chances to avenge their loss. One such opportunity is against division leader, Stony Brook, next week. When I asked Colona about the upcoming match up, Colona replied “We love playing Stony Brook; they’re always a good team and we’ll be ready for them.”
By:Tyler Fitzpatrick
