The Hens hit the road this weekend to play Stony Brook University in New York. Stony Brook was ranked number 4 in the league and Delaware number 16 going into the weekend. UD fell both games to the Seawolves, but put up a good fight.
The puck dropped at 8:30 p.m. Saturday night. The starting lineup was Dylan Troiano in goal, Brayden Penner and Alex Guerere on defense, and Leo Skehan, Shane Mullin, and John Redgate on the offensive line. The first period was underway, and the Seawolves scored a goal within the first minute of play. Stony Brook was in our defensive zone for the beginning of the period. With 14 minutes and 54 seconds on the clock, SBU scored their second goal of the night. Nearly two minutes later and a UD player in the box, the home team scored their third goal of the night. After those three goals, the Blue Hens pulled themselves together, and started to play their game for the rest of the period. The period ended with the score being 3-0 and shots on goal being 14-2, Seawolves.
The second period was underway, and the Hens were playing hard because they knew they needed to make a comeback. They played with much more intensity throughout the period. UD took more shots on net, but had no luck getting the puck in. With 8 minutes and 47 seconds on the clock, the Seawolves scored goal number four for the night. At the end of period the score was 4-0, and the shots on goal were 22-12, Seawolves. The first half of the third period consisted of decent play. Delaware continued to play hard. The second half of the third things started to take a turn. It was a game full of roughness and penalties. Stony Brook scored with just over two minutes left in the period, and took the game 5-0.
The teams matched up again on Sunday at 3:30 in the afternoon. The starting lineup was Dylan Troiano in goal, Cameron Bregenzer and Alex Guerere on defense, and Matt Margolis, Pierce Lamberton, and Cole Zucker as the forwards. Delaware needed to come out strong and be ready to put up a fight. The Blue Hens jumped on the Seawolves early, and Alex Guerere scored a power play goal off of an assist from John Redgate with 12 minutes and 24 seconds left on the clock. Shortly after, John Redgate scored a shorthanded goal with nothing but net with 7 minutes and 34 seconds left in the period. The score was 2-0, Blue Hens! With just over a minute left of play, a UD player was sent to the box, so the Seawolves started the second period with a man advantage. At the end of the first, the score was 2-0, Delaware, and the shots on goal were 11-7, Stony Brook.
The second period was a little rocky for the Blue Hens. There were a lot of penalties called on us. There was a lot of movement up and down the ice, and possession of the puck was pretty equal at this point in the game. About half way through the period, shots on goal were 20-10, Stony Brook. Delaware was successful on all of their penalty kills until the Seawolves scored a goal on a power play with 8 minutes and 40 seconds on the clock. The Hens started to play with more aggression. Within the last two minutes of play in the second, the home team scored two more goals, putting them in the lead 3-2. In the third period, Delaware regained their strength, and put out a final 20 minutes of strong play. The score remained the same throughout the period. We had a few shots on goal, but no luck in tying up the game. With about a minute and a half left, Dylan Troiano came out of the net, Leo Skehan, John Redgate, Cole Zucker, Nick Ustaski, Alex Guerere, and extra attacker Max Freeman pressured the Seawolves in their zone for the last minute, but had no luck getting the equalizer. The final score was 3-2 and shots on goal 35-30, Stony Brook.
I spoke to a few players at the end of the series to get their input on the weekend. When asked to comment on Saturday’s game, Ian Anderson said, “Saturday’s game was a tough one for us. We came out flat and were in a 3-0 hole in the first ten minutes of the game. After the first ten, we came together and realized that in order to compete with a team like Stony Brook, we needed to play our game. For the rest of the first and the entire second period we played our game, but weren’t able to capitalize. The third period was a completely different period for us as we started to get angry and take penalties. In order to compete with teams of that skill, we can’t be playing like that, and we ended up giving two more goals and took a tough 5-0 loss.” Pierce Lamberton said, “Well they just came out fast and we weren’t prepared for it. They scored the first shift, and got a couple of favorable bounces and from there on we were trying to battle back from behind. We never seemed to be able to get anything going.” When I asked them what they did differently on Sunday, both responded by saying the team knew that they needed to be playing their game in order to be in a game with a team like Stony Brook. Ian noted that the team created a lot more opportunities, and they were able to capitalize on two early in the first. Pierce felt that the team came out more prepared and ready from the drop of the puck on Sunday which allowed them to jump on the Seawolves early.
The Blue Hens don’t have another game until January 9th and 10th against Colorado State University at the Fred Rust! We hope that you will keep up with our Twitter, @UDHockey, and Facebook page, University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey, during the break. The team would like to wish their peers good luck on their finals, and we hope to see you at the Rust when we return! As for all of our fans, friends, and families, the team would like to wish you happy holidays and see you in January!
Written By: Analisa Vizzoni
