This past weekend the Blue Hens took on the #12 Stony Brook Seawolves at the Rust.
Friday night the teams played at 6:15, and from the start the energy was high. In the first, there were a few penalties on both teams, but by the end, the game was tied at 0. Going into the second, both teams were hungry to get that first goal. Things started to get chippy on the ice, and penalties started to get thrown left and right. In a moment of luck for the Hens, captain, #28 Cole Zucker put one on the board for UD off an assist from #13 Chris Mazzella and #37 Jack Zimmer. On fire, just a few minutes later, assistant captain, #15 Shane Mullin extended the team’s lead off a feed from Zucker and #26 Brian Ostrander. The second ended with UD up by two.
Rattled by the score of the game, the Seawolves came out strong in the third. They were able to score two goals within the last ten minutes of the period. This meant overtime. Tension was high in the rink, and OT started. Both teams were working to get that win. However, with a beautiful shot off a pass from #21 Mike Redgate and #23 Devin Jenny, sophomore, Chris Mazzella scored the game winner for the Hens about half way through the period.
Emotions were soaring through the crowd and the Blue Hens’ bench! After all the excitement calmed down, Redgate said, “It was a great game. It was huge to bounce back from such a tough weekend last week [against Drexel]. A great start to the weekend, and even though we let up the lead, we never gave up and came out with the win.” Michael Nisky added, “Good game, it was a huge game to win. We needed it as a group, and it will really help us later in the season.” With one more game left to play, Andrew Corapi said, “We’re definitely happy to get the first win of the weekend, no question. Tomorrow presents a new game and a new challenge. We know what to expect, and we’re ready to take on the task.”
Puck drop was at 5:25 for the final game of the series. The stakes were high for Delaware, and so the intensity was dialed up. Stony Brook managed to score the first goal of the game in the first period. Determined to not be left behind, the Hens tied up the game just before the end of the first with a goal from Zucker off an assist from Ostrander and #14 Dustin Rabinowitz. Going into the second, once again with a tied score, both teams were eager to take the lead. The Seawolves scored their second goal with 13:05 remaining in the period, and then once more on the power play, extending their lead by two. Stony Brook then sent a man to the box for a five minute misconduct, and it was Delaware’s chance to make a move. Ostrander cut the lead and scored off a pass from Zucker and Mullin. About a minute later, Nisky tied the game off a feed from Redgate and Zucker! The period ended tied, again, with the Hens on the power play.
The Hens couldn’t find the net during the power play, but nonetheless they continued to work hard on the ice. A little less than halfway through the game, #12 Colin Emerich put the Hens back in the lead after getting fed a pass by #16 Kevin Felice and Redgate. The crowd was soaring! The energy from the ice was electric. As the game was rounding out to a close, the Seawolves pulled their goalie, and with the man advantage, they tied up the game with 37 seconds left in the third. An overtime period was called for the second day in a row! The teams played 3 on 3, for the extra period. The game was evenly matched, and it was a nail biter of a few minutes. With 38.4 seconds left, the Seawolves capitalized on a breakaway, and won the game.
After an incredibly well fought weekend, the series ended in a split. #37 Ethan Docking said of Saturday’s game, “We played well and had a solid weekend. We just caught some bad luck at the end.” Ostrander noted, “We played at a high level consistently throughout the whole weekend, and were able to get 3 out of 4 points against a team that is ranked higher than us.”
Overall it was a successful weekend for the Hens. This upcoming weekend they will be facing the Liberty Flames at the Rust on Friday at 6:15 and Saturday at 5:25. Saturday’s game will be Youth Hockey Night at the Rink, so the team looks forward to seeing all the future Blue Hens at the game!
As usual, keep up with the team on their social media pages for updates on all that they have going on.
Twitter: @udhockey
Instagram: @udicehockey
Facebook: University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey
Written By: Analisa Vizzoni
