In its first Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) series of the season, the Stony Brook hockey team salvaged a split after faltering in game one.
The Seawolves (4-4-2, 1-0-0 ESCHL) were back at The Rinx this weekend for a two-game series against the Rhode Island Rams (5-6-1, 1-3-1 ESCHL). On Friday, Stony Brook blew a three-goal lead en route to a 5-4 shootout loss before winning the league game 5-3 on Saturday.
During the first period of the series opener, the Seawolves were outplayed but escaped with a lead thanks to goaltender Steven Reganato. Though he did not get a chance to ease into his collegiate debut, Reganato was up to the task, stopping all 15 shots he faced.
Despite being outshot 14-6 with just 4:19 remaining in the opening period, center Nick Newman gave Stony Brook the lead and life. After collecting the puck at his own blue line, Newman led a two-on-one rush and took the puck to the net himself, making a silky forehand-backhand move to slip the puck past Rhode Island goaltender Callum Burgess.
Just under two minutes later, winger Kyle Nestepny extended the Seawolves’ advantage to 2-0. With the puck behind the net, winger Justin Nakagawa bumped it to center James Kozicki at the bottom of the left faceoff circle. He quickly backhanded a pass to Nestepny in the slot, who one timed it over Burgess’ glove and in.
At the 8:17 mark of the second period, the Rams cut their deficit to one goal. From the point, Rhode Island defenseman Jonathan Shaw fired a slap shot that Reganato turned away. However, winger Max Lockwood was left all alone in front of the net, allowing him to put home the rebound.
Just over two minutes later, Stony Brook restored its two-goal lead. While skating six-on-five due to a delayed penalty, center Michael Rocco came streaking down the right side of the ice and fired a wrist shot on goal. It caught Burgess up high, fluttered in behind him and wound up in the back of the net amidst chaos in the crease.
With 5:07 to go in the middle frame, the Seawolves gave themselves a 4-1 cushion with a power-play tally. Upon receiving the puck at the left faceoff dot, defenseman Kiernan Gately settled it down and sniped a bottle-popping wrister over Burgess’ right shoulder on the short side for his first collegiate goal.
However, undisciplined play plagued Stony Brook, allowing the Rams to get back into the game. A roughing minor by winger Jake Gusavitch put the Seawolves down a man and with 3:39 left in the second period, winger Cam Cyr made them pay. Rhode Island defenseman Zach Bell circled the net and found Cyr in the slot, who snapped a shot past Reganato’s glove.
Just 2:19 seconds later, Stony Brook turned the puck over at its own blue line, creating a three-on-one down low. Lockwood slid a pass to center Ethan Cordeiro, who lifted it over Reganato’s outstretched pad and into the cage for another power-play goal after a slashing call on defenseman Colin Wenrich to bring the Rams within a goal.
“We had the game at hand,” head coach Chris Garofalo said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “We took two bad penalties. They scored on their power plays and kudos to them. We didn’t kill the penalties, but we also shouldn’t have been in the box. They got back in it, chipped away and here we are.”
With the momentum on Rhode Island’s side, the Seawolves were on their heels throughout the third period. Despite standing on his head during the frame, Bell beat Reganato to knot the game at four apiece with 2:26 remaining in regulation time. With the puck at the top of the right faceoff circle, Bell toe dragged around center William Kormanik before ripping a shot that found its way through Reganato.
In overtime, both teams traded chances. Following a big penalty kill that featured seven stops by Reganato, Stony Brook failed to convert on a brief two-man advantage to send the game to a shootout.
With the skills competition tied at 1-1 heading into the third round, Rhode Island winger Shane Mulhern snuck a shot through Reganato before Burgess turned away a Kozicki backhander to clinch a 5-4 victory.
In defeat, Reganato was outstanding, as he denied 47 of the 51 shots he faced. The Seawolves were outshot 51-43 while going 1-for-5 on the power play and uncharacteristically killing off just three of their five penalties.
“[Reganato]’s a gamer,” Garofalo said. “Tonight had nothing to do with him. He didn’t have a team in front of him and I’m getting tired of saying that. I don’t feel like we’re giving [our goalies] the support that they deserve based on how they’re playing.”
Showing resilience, Stony Brook responded in the series finale due to a dominant first 40 minutes of play.
The Seawolves wasted no time getting on the board thanks to a tweaked starting line that saw winger Kristian Malec skate alongside Kormanik and winger Paul DeSaro. The trio took just 19 seconds to set the tone of the game, as DeSaro buried a loose puck off of a net front scramble caused by a heavy forecheck, immediately giving Stony Brook a 1-0 lead.
The game settled down until there were 5:48 remaining in the opening period when winger Nate LeGrette scored off an incredible individual effort. He protected the puck on a one-on-one scenario before driving to the net and roofing a shot over Burgess to extend the Seawolves’ lead to 2-0 going into the intermission.
The second period saw the Rams get on the board just past the midway point. On a two-on-one rush, Rhode Island center Jake MacKinnon set up Cyr for a backdoor tap-in, cutting Stony Brook’s lead in half.
However, the Seawolves responded just 44 seconds later. After receiving a feed from Kormanik in the right faceoff circle, Malec toe dragged into open space and backhanded a pass to DeSaro in the left circle, who one timed a shot into the yawning cage.
“We try to stay positive and not be negative,” DeSaro said. “After a goal, we want to come back, reset and keep moving forward.”
Despite Stony Brook’s quick answer, Rhode Island pushed to get back in the game, but goaltender Scott Barnikow fended off several high-danger chances to keep the score at 3-1.
“My job is plain and simple,” Barnikow said. “I’m here to be the backstop for the team. When we’re playing Stony Brook hockey, we’re unbeatable.”
With Barnikow standing tall, the Seawolves capitalized with 4:15 left in the middle period. Off a misplay by Burgess, defenseman Owen Larson corralled a rebound and banged it home.
Following the goal, Stony Brook continued to push, forcing Rhode Island winger Aidan Darlington to take a double-minor penalty. The Seawolves took advantage, as Nakagawa sniped a shot over Burgess for a power-play marker in the waning seconds of the second period to make it 5-1.
The third period saw the ice slightly tilt in Rhode Island’s favor, as Cyr netted a pair of goals to complete his hat trick and make it 5-3. However, Stony Brook held on to earn a series split.
“We didn’t play to our standard yesterday,” Garofalo said. “Today, the guy’s had a little chip on their shoulders and they came out playing hard. We were tenacious on the puck.”
In game two, Barnikow stopped 37 of the 40 shots he faced. Despite an even 40-40 shot share, the Seawolves killed off their only shorthanded disadvantage while going 1-for-3 on the power play.
In the offensive zone, Nakagawa and Gately led the team in points with a goal and two assists apiece. DeSaro buried two goals while Nestepny notched a goal and a helper. Newman, Rocco, Larson and LeGrette each scored a goal.
Kormanik, Malec and Wenrich all recorded two assists, while Kozicki, center Joey Lomtevas, winger Alex Scimeca and defensemen Ted Valenti and Jackson Haskins all notched a helper. Haskins’ assist also marked his first collegiate point.
Stony Brook will be back in action next weekend, when it will head to Pittsburgh for a two-game set against the Pittsburgh Panthers, who are coming into the series having split with Drexel. The Panthers are 7-6-1 overall this season and 3-1-0 in ESCHL play. Game one is set for Friday at 7:15 p.m. and the series will conclude with a 1:15 p.m. start on Saturday. Only Saturday’s contest will count toward ESCHL standings.
