The Blue Hens have one of their busiest weekends of the season ahead of him. They play three games against division opponents as they continue their charge towards the ESCHL tournament.
Lebanon Valley will be their opponent during Friday and Saturday. They are currently fourth in the ESCHL standing, right behind the Blue Hens. They have a record of 10-9-1 so far this season and are 4-7-1 against ESCHL opponents.
They are coming off a couple one-goal losses against ESCHL rival Rhode Island. They managed an impressive seven goals in the two games but surrendered nine. It marks the third straight game they lost by only one goal.
Right Winger Joey Labonte leads Lebanon Valley on offense. He has racked up 12 goals and 24 points in only 19 games played. Forwards Andy Thurby and Jacob Thomas are not far behind with 18 points.
On Sunday, the Blue Hens will travel to face division opponent West Chester. West Chester has struggled against ESCHL opponents this season, going 2-14-0. They won both of those games at home though, and have played the most games against ESCHL opponents.
Like Lebanon Valley, West Chester is an offensively minded team. Right Winger Justin Finnerty leads the team with 10 goals and 21 points through 21 games.
Since the Holiday Break, the Blue Hens usually high-powered offense has not been its usual goal scoring self. In their four games since they came back from the break, they have only managed 2 goals a game. They have been able to score an average of 3.45 goals a game so far this year.
When I spoke to Blue Hen Sophomore goalie Dylan Troiano earlier this week, he spoke of the importance of these divisional games. Right now, Stony Brook sits atop the ESCHL standings with 26 points through 14 games. Right behind them are second place Rhode Island with 24 points through 14 games. In third place are the Blue Hens with 13 points in 12 games
The Blue Hens still have 8 divisional games to close that gap. Troiano pointed that out and said the window is certainly not closing on a possible first round bye for the Blue Hens. They will get a first round bye in the ESCHL tournament if they finish the season as one of the top 2 teams in the division.
This weekends schedule is as follows:
Friday 7:00 PM @ Lebanon Valley College Live stream can be found here: http://www.godutchmen.com/watch/?Live=217
Saturday 5:15 v Lebanon Valley College at the Fred Rust
Sunday 2:00 PM @ West Chester
By: Tyler Fitzpatrick
