A sweep, what a way to end the Delaware hockey season! On Friday and Saturday, the Hens battled the West Chester University Golden Rams at the Fred Rust.
With a 6:15 puck drop on Friday, the starting lineup for the home team was #15 Shane Mullin, #19 Andrew Corapi, and #10 Drew Torrey as the forwards, on defense #11 Tommy Cascone and #23 Devin Jenny, and in the net, #1 Chris Ponticello. A few minutes into the first, WCU took the lead. It remained that way throughout the rest of the period. Ready for a comeback in the second, the Blue Hens came out fierce. A little more than three minutes in, #20 Ian Anderson tied up the game off a feed from Mullin and Corapi. A few minutes later, #9 Greg Jandoli put the Hens in the lead off an assist from Jenny and #39 Pierce Lamberton. Yet again, just a few minutes later, Captain Cole Zucker extended the Hens’ lead one more goal, assisted by Lamberton and #37 Jack Zimmer. There were a few penalties called on Delaware, but the Hens were successful on the penalty kill. With six minutes to go in the second, Jandoli found the back of the net for a second time! The assists were given to Anderson and #21 Mike Redgate. Within the last few minutes of the period and a Hen in the box, West Chester capitalized on the man advantage and scored. The scoreboard read 4-2, with one period left to go in the game. In the last period, Delaware only extended their lead. Greg Jandoli scored one last goal, his third of the night, off an assist from Redgate! The final score of the game was 5-3, UD.
After an exciting win, Dustin Rabinowitz said, “We played a great game, and it was a crucial win going into playoffs.” Earning himself the only hat trick of the season for the Hens, Greg Jandoli added his thoughts saying, “The team played very well today. I believe we were running on all cylinders and strung many consecutive shifts together. We were able to capitalize on our opportunities. We need to bring that same style of play tomorrow, and get a win for our seniors on their senior night.”
Saturday night was Senior Night at the Rust. The team honored their five graduating seniors: Cole Zucker, Shane Mullin, Drew Torrey, Dustin Rabinowitz and Andrew Corapi. All of these guys started off the game on the ice, and in the net was #29 Chris Demas playing in his first game as a Blue Hen. The puck dropped and the Hens were off. In the first period, Delaware scored three goals. The first goal was scored by #14 Rabinowitz off a feed from Lamberton and Zimmer while on the power play. A few minutes later, Anderson scored off an assist from Jenny and #13 Chris Mazzella. The third goal of the night was scored by Zucker off a pass from #6 Harrison Chuma and Mazzella. In the second period, the goals just kept coming. Shortly into the period and back on the power play, Jenny extended the Hens’ lead 4-0 off an assist by Anderson and Mazzella. The next few goals of the night were awarded to the Rams, making the score 4-2 halfway through the period. The fifth goal of the night was a shorthanded goal scored by #16 Kevin Felice and assisted by #12 Colin Emerich with 7 minutes to go in the second. Mazzella slid the puck past the Rams’ keeper off an assist from Anderson. And, less than one minute later, Zucker scored his second goal of the night off a feed from Rabinowitz. The score at the end of second period was 7-2, Delaware.
In the third period, the Hens tacked on three more goals. The eighth goal of the night was scored by Torrey off a pass from Redgate. The ninth goal was scored by #3 Danny Demas, his first of the season, and it was assisted by Jandoli and Redgate. The tenth and final Blue Hen goal of the night was scored by Assistant Captain, Shane Mullin off an assist from his senior teammates, Corapi and Zucker. West Chester scored one last goal with a few seconds left in the game, and the final score was 10-3, Hens, making it a successful last home game for the seniors and the rest of the team.
After this blowout win, Chris Demas said, “I’m honored the seniors trusted me enough to let me play my first game on their night. It was a great experience, and the boys made it very easy for me by putting up 10 goals.” His brother, Danny Demas added, “We played a complete game from start to finish, and it was unreal to be a part of our seniors’ senior night game.”
The team has finished all games in the regular season, and is heading to the ESCHL playoff tournament hosted at West Chester. Their first game in the tournament is at 3:00 in the afternoon against Rutgers on Friday. Stay tuned for updates on the weekend to come on all social media platforms for the team.
Twitter: @udhockey
Instagram: @udicehockey
Facebook: University of Delaware Men’s Division 1 Ice Hockey
Written By: Analisa Vizzoni
