The Blue Hens look forward to their last weekend of regular season hockey. They are coming off a big weekend where they managed to split against division rival, Rhode Island.
They were held scoreless in their first game, but rose to the occasion in the second game for a 2-1 win. The Blue Hens hope the two goals against a top of the line defense can help get their offense back to the level it was earlier in the season.
Defender Alex Guerere scored both of the goals and is on a roll as of late. “I feel like I can try to be a little more creative right now,” said Guerere on his recent hot streak. “I played with JC finally and I felt more confident that if I tried to do something a little more risky, he is good enough to where he can cover my back.”
He also commented on being a part of the power play and how it has helped him gain a more aggressive mindset. “In the game before, I played forward and got a goal so coach likes me at forward and in front of the net. You get the goal the weekend before and then you get the goal from the point and then you start to think you can make things happen.”
The Blue Hens power play could benefit from a more aggressive attack. They have been struggling as of late as their power play percentage has dipped to 16%. However, they do have the talent on the team to make the power play successful.
Freshman Cole Zucker still leads the team with 14 goals. He recently came back from an injury, but has played plenty of minutes. Fellow Freshman Max Freeman is in second with 9 goals. Former line mate John Redgate is in fourth on the team with 7 goals, one goal behind Vinny Zingarelli who currently sits at 8.
Alex Guerere had some advice for the young scorers. “I think guys need to start taking more chances. We need to bear down more and play unselfish. When we did play unselfish, we scored a lot more. I feel that since we weren’t scoring that much, guys weren’t as confident in themselves and wouldn’t take chances when they should.”
The Blue Hens have three games against ESCHL opponents this weekend. Their first opponent is West Chester. They won their first two games against West Chester, but fell in overtime in their last encounter.
Winger, Justin Finnerty, leads the West Chester offense. He has 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points. They have struggled defensively this season, as they average over four goals against per game.
Then, they play two games against Rutgers. The Blue Hens have a win and an overtime loss against Rutgers this season. Winger, Andrew Koslov, who 22 points, leads the Scarlet Knights on offense. Also, the ESCHL tournament will be held at Rutgers.
The schedule for this weekend is below:
2/12 Thursday: West Chester @ 8:00PM
2/13 Friday: Rutgers @ 9:15PM
2/14 Saturday: @Rutgers @ 8:30PM
By: Tyler Fitzpatrick
