This past weekend the Blue Hens traveled to Athens, Ohio to take on the #3 team in the ACHA Men’s D1 league. Two games were played against the Ohio University Bobcats, both ending in a loss for the Hens.
On Friday Night, the starting lineup was Shane Mullin, Vincent Zingarelli, John Redgate, Jakob Defares, and Max Freeman, with senior Dylan Troiano in goal. Goalie, Dylan Troiano, held strong through the first two periods, allowing for a 0-0 tie into the third period. After a great effort by the team, the Blue Hens fell to Ohio 1-0 after a goal scored in the last minutes of the game. Shots on goal for the game ended with 50-18 in favor of the Bobcats. Forward, Devin Jenny, when asked his thoughts about the game said, “Friday was a very hard fought game. We battled hard and skated with them all night. Dylan [Troiano] came up huge and really kept us in the game. We felt that we had some chances to score but they just had a very solid defense. It definitely gave us some confidence knowing we could play with possibly the top team in the country.” Team captain, John Redgate, added, “They were a tough opponent, but Dylan gave us a chance to win as he usually does. The offense did not do a good job of finding ways to beat their defense and in the end it cost us the game.”
Saturday’s game also ended in a loss for the University of Delaware Blue Hens. The lineup for Saturday was Shane Mullin, Vincent Zingarelli, John Redgate, Jakob Defares, Max Freeman and Stephen East in the net. Ohio scored their first goal with 1:45 left in the first period. Delaware made a quick comeback after J. Redgate took advantage of an assist from Freeman and scored a goal with 45 seconds left in the period. Ohio took no time in attaining another goal early in the second period. Defensive player Justin Hoch explained, “We knew coming into the second would be tough. They are a good team. We played an okay first period and were able to keep up with them, but once they started to get going it was hard to catch up.” Ohio scored three more goals in the second, capitalizing on their power plays to finish the period with a score of 6-1 Ohio. In the third period, goalie Stephen East was switched for Dylan Troiano to finish out the game. The final score was 10-1 Bobcats. “It definitely wasn’t our best game. We played a good first period and showed Ohio we could play with them.  It’s always tough playing a team ranked that highly in the nation at their home rink two days in a row. In the second period, we kind of lost control of the game and it seemed like all the bounces were going Ohio’s way, but the boys kept working hard,” center, Cole Zucker, said, “We need to put Saturday’s game past us and start focusing on Stony Brook next week.” Redgate added, “We need to put these losses behind us so that we can continue to grow together as a team and learn from the mistakes we made against Ohio. We have a chance to take our league and clinch a spot in nationals, which will be our main focus going forward.” Next weekend, the boys will take on our rival, Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York. Keep up with our Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates on the game!
Stay on the lookout for the upcoming Blue Hen promotional games such as Cub Scouts Night! This game is taking place on January 28th at 5:15 vs. Liberty University. Tickets are $3 for all Cub Scouts, friends, and family. To register for this game, contact Kaden@udel.edu by January 25th. For any additional questions or information contact leahedel@udel.edu.
Twitter: @udhockey
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Facebook: University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey
Written by: Daniella Fioretti
