After taking the opener of a two-game series, the No. 24 Stony Brook hockey team sunk its chances at a much-needed sweep due to penalties.
This weekend, the Seawolves (7-8-2, 2-3-0 ESCHL) were in Newark, Del. to take on the No. 22 Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens (10-7-3, 1-1-0 ESCHL) for their final series of the calendar year. A strong performance in net from goaltender Steven Reganato netted Stony Brook a 4-3 victory in overtime on Friday, but the Seawolves fell short of a sweep by losing the official Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) game 3-2 Saturday.
On just their second shot of the game, the Seawolves found their first goal on Friday. After a boarding penalty by Delaware winger Luke Dosen, winger Justin Nakagawa slid a pass to center James Kozicki in the slot, who ripped a one-timer into the top right corner of the goal 6:58 into the first period.
Following a pair of penalties against Stony Brook late in the opening frame, Delaware tied the game at 1-1 on the five-on-three power play. With 1:34 remaining in the period, winger Ryan Rodrigues curled from the right corner and into the slot before firing a wrist shot past Reganato’s blocker.
While the clock hit zero for play to stop in the first period, defenseman Anthony Marra was disqualified from the contest and assessed a five-minute major for unsportsmanlike conduct. On the long man advantage, the Blue Hens found their second power-play tally of the game, as defenseman Riley Dohner sent a seeing-eye wrist shot through Reganato from center point just 2:52 into the second.
A few minutes later, winger Paul DeSaro controlled the puck in the left faceoff circle and sent a nifty pass to Kozicki in the slot. This time, Kozicki redirected the puck to sneak it past Delaware goaltender Timmy Briley to knot the game at 2-2.
With 7:05 left in the middle period, winger Alex Scimeca put the Seawolves on top. From the left wall, center Nick Newman sent a pass to Scimeca in the slot, who wired a one-time slap shot over Briley.
The final 20 minutes of regulation nearly stayed scoreless until the Blue Hens forced overtime with seven seconds to go in the third period. Delaware center Chance DeBolt sent a blind pass towards the net that ended up on Rodrigues’ tape. Rodrigues quickly tapped a pass to winger Tanner Mahoney, who was charging down the slot. Kozicki did his best to interrupt the shot, but Mahoney got it off and buried it, tying the score at 3-3.
In the extra frame, Delaware center Justin Guelph was booked for tripping 1:41 in, putting the Seawolves on the power play. At the top of the offensive end, center William Kormanik, defenseman Colin Wenrich and DeSaro played catch with the puck until DeSaro unleashed a one-time slap shot from the left faceoff circle for the game-winning goal.
The Seawolves heavily relied on Reganato throughout the game, as he made 44 saves on 47 shots. Despite the win, Stony Brook only mustered up 24 shots of its own.
“[Reganato] gave us a chance to win,” head coach Chris Garofalo said in an interview with The Statesman. “I talk about this with the guys all the time … you have an opportunity to seize the moment. And [Reganato] did.“
Just 6:06 into the series finale, a check by winger Jake Gusavitch at the Blue Hens’ blue line forced a turnover that ended up on center Joey Lomtevas’ stick. He made quick work of the chance, burying a shot past Delaware goaltender Jacob Snellenburg for his first collegiate goal and a 1-0 lead that carried over into the second period.
With 6:02 remaining in the middle period, defenseman Jackson Haskins took a hooking penalty. Just prior to the power play’s expiration, Dohner found Guelph open for a one-timer at the left faceoff circle, which he slammed into the yawning net to tie things up at one apiece.
Less than a minute later, the Seawolves once again found themselves shorthanded, as Gusavitch was also called for hooking. Like clockwork, the Blue Hens scored on the power play. This time, it was Guelph connecting with center Cody Dias at the doorstep of the crease for a tap in to make it 2-1.
Delaware found an opportunity to get an insurance goal to start the third period when Newman was sent off for high sticking. Guelph set Rodrigues up for a one-timer in the left faceoff circle, where he sniped it over Reganato’s left shoulder and into the top right corner of the net, putting the Blue Hens up 3-1 just under four minutes into the final frame.
“We have to be better on the penalty kill,” Garofalo said. “Some of [the penalties] were lazy, like hooking and tripping. We just weren’t moving our feet.”
A shot from defenseman Dylan Kowalsky that was deflected by Newman and into the back of the cage with just over five minutes left made things close down the stretch, but Delaware was able to hold onto the one-goal lead for a 3-2 victory.
“I thought we played really well today,” Garofalo said. “There’s some bright spots. The effort was there.”
The Blue Hens scored five of their six goals over the weekend on the power play. The Seawolves penalty kill is now at 82.3% on the season.
After posting a .936 save percentage on Friday, Reganato stopped 23 of the 26 shots he faced in the second half of the back-to-back set. The Seawolves outshot Delaware with 30-26 on Saturday.
“We are lacking some offensive production,” Garofalo said. “We know we need to score more goals. We need to bear down harder in front of the net. But overall, we are moving in the right direction. It just takes time.”
In the offensive zone, DeSaro led the team with a goal and two assists while Kozicki tallied a pair of goals. Nakagawa picked up two assists, and Scimeca notched a goal and a helper.
Newman also deposited a goal and added an assist. Wenrich, Kowalsky and Kormanik all recorded an assist each.
The Seawolves now have a long break ahead of them, but the season is far from over. Stony Brook will return on Friday, Jan. 10, for its second and final series of the season against the Rhode Island Rams. Fresh off a series sweep over Syracuse this weekend, the Rams are 11-7-3 overall this season and 2-4-1 in ESCHL play. During the two sides’ previous meetings earlier this season, Rhode Island came back and took game one 5-4 in a shootout before the Seawolves rebounded with a 5-3 win. The series will open with a 7 p.m. puck drop from Kingston, R.I. before concluding with a 4 p.m. start on Saturday, Jan. 11. Only the series finale will count toward the ESCHL standings.
