This upcoming weekend the Hens are taking on the Naval Academy Midshipmen. Friday night the teams will face off at 7:30 at the McMullen Ice Arena in Annapolis. Saturday afternoon the teams will play at the Fred Rust for Delaware’s home opener at 4:00 p.m.

The Hens recently played the Syracuse Orange and the Oswego State Lakers. The Hens split the series with the Orange, and beat the Lakers in the single game they played on Sunday. Friday night’s game resulted in a 5-1 loss for the Hens. The team fell short in the third period. They went into it trailing by one goal, but let four goals in during the last twenty minutes. The team was gassed, and the Orange outplayed them. Chris Mazzella was able to put on in with two minutes left in the period. In Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, the Blue Hens played with a strong defense and capitalized on all opportunities in front of the opponent’s net. This allowed them to take the lead and keep it. On Saturday afternoon, goalie, Stephen East played a notable game, making a total of 50 saves throughout the 60 minutes. It was also a weekend of firsts for many of the players. On Saturday, freshman Ethan Docking scored his first career goal with the team. On Sunday against Oswego State, Chris Ponticello started his first game in the net, and helped the team get the W saving 30 shots on goal. Brian Ostrander, Harrison Good and Harrison Chuma scored their first goals as Blue Hens during Sunday’s game.

The Naval Academy recently lost a series to Ohio University. Their first game resulted in a 6-2 loss, and their second game resulted in a 4-1 loss for the Midshipmen. The team has yet to win a game this season, so they will be coming out hungry for a win this weekend. The Hens need to be aware of that as they head into this series.

Player to watch for the weekend is Michael Nisky! Number 22 is a strong player on the forward line. Going into this weekend he is the leading the team in points, with seven points spread out across five games. He has two goals and five assists so far. Michael’s speed and stickhandling skills are a key asset to the Hens’ forward lines. His high intensity of play almost always goes unmatched.  

Be sure to head to the Rust on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the team’s home opener! To keep up with all things UD hockey related, be sure to follow the team’s social media pages.

Twitter: @udhockey

Instagram: @udicehockey

Facebook: University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey

Written By: Analisa Vizzoni