
After being overpowered last weekend, the No. 23 Stony Brook hockey team fought through adversity to complete a sweep over an Eastern States Collegiate Hockey League (ESCHL) foe.
In their return from Ohio, the Seawolves (12-10-3, 5-3-0 ESCHL) were back at The Rinx this weekend for a two-game set with the No. 17 Pittsburgh Panthers (14-9-3, 5-2-1 ESCHL). The series saw Stony Brook complete a sweep of Pittsburgh with a pair of dramatic wins in the waning seconds of overtime. On Saturday, the team prevailed 4-3 despite surrendering a 3-0 lead and on Sunday afternoon, it picked up a 5-4 victory in the official league game.
The first period of game one was quiet, but the Seawolves showcased a dominant second to grab a sizable lead.
With 13:25 remaining in the middle frame, winger Justin Nakagawa finished off a passing play by winger Alex Scimeca and center James Kozicki. After Scimeca’s one-timer off the rush was stopped by Pittsburgh goaltender Joe Ambroffi, Nakagawa tapped the rebound into the open net to give Stony Brook a 1-0 lead.
The Seawolves capitalized again with six minutes to go. Following a Panthers penalty, Stony Brook power play went to work. In the final seconds of the man advantage, defenseman Jackson Haskins threw a seeing-eye wrist shot towards the net from center point that evaded Ambroffi, extending Stony Brook’s lead to 2-0.
However, the Seawolves were not done just yet, as in the dying seconds of the second period, winger Thomas Liebold found Scimeca all alone in the left faceoff circle. From there, he rocketed a slap shot past Ambroffi to give his team a commanding 3-0 lead going to the second intermission.
Despite the big hole, Pittsburgh proved that the game was far from over after a hot start to the third period.
Just 44 seconds into the period, Pittsburgh winger Colby Bilski and center Maverick Crupi combined to set up winger J.C. Bele on a three-on-two rush. As Crupi connected with Bele, he ripped a one-timer into the back of the net to get the Panthers on the board, leaving little chance for goaltender Garrett Simpson.
Just three minutes later, Pittsburgh cut its deficit to a goal. What looked like an innocent point shot from Crupi ended up being crucial, as the puck redirected off of Haskins’ stick, past Simpson and into the net.
Throughout the remainder of the third period, the Panthers kept the pressure up, which culminated in Pittsburgh finding the equalizer with 5:39 left. After digging the puck out of the right corner, Crupi found defenseman Alex Paluso creeping into the left circle, who tapped it past Simpson to even the score at 3-3.
Despite giving the lead away and committing several defensive-zone turnovers, Simpson remained strong in net, making several key stops to force overtime. During overtime, both teams exchanged chances, but Simpson and Ambroffi made several quality stops to keep things going.
Nevertheless, in the final seconds of the extra period, a Simpson save and defensive-zone steal led to a partial breakaway for Scimeca. While being hauled down by Pittsburgh winger Edward Pazo, Scimeca fired a wrist shot past Ambroffi with nine ticks remaining on the clock to take the series opener 4-3.
Though it nearly let the game slip away, Stony Brook outplayed the Panthers in all facets of the game. The Seawolves went 1-for-2 on the man advantage, killed off both Pittsburgh power plays and outshot their rivals 44-40. Simpson was also sharp, as he turned aside 37 shots.
The series finale saw Stony Brook claim an overtime victory for a second straight day. Much like the series opener, game two had its hairy moments for the Seawolves.
In the opening period, the Panthers struck first. At the 8:44 mark, Crupi put together a strong individual effort, as he outmuscled defenseman Ted Valenti along the boards before skating out of the corner, cutting to the net and backhanding a shot past goaltender Steven Reganato.
It did not take Stony Brook long to respond, as less than two minutes later, it tied things up. Off an odd-man rush, a shot by winger Jake Gusavitch was denied by Pittsburgh goalie Grant Lindsay, but the rebound was left for the taking for Liebold, who buried it to tie the game at one apiece.
From there, however, the Panthers seized control of the first period. During a four-on-four situation with just under five minutes to play, Pittsburgh defenseman Luke Henderson found Pazo with a seam pass just above the goal line near the left corner, who ripped a one-timer under Reganato to put the Panthers ahead 2-1.
Less than two minutes later, Pittsburgh struck again thanks to Crupi, who cashed in the rebound left by Reganato off a slot shot from Bilski.
However, much like in Saturday’s contest, a dominant second period by the Seawolves shifted the tide of the game. It seemingly began with head coach Chris Garofalo, who chose to pull Reganato and insert goaltender Scott Barnikow into net to start the second period.
“We went into the locker room after the first period and we made the goalie change,” Garofalo said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “I think that shook the guys up.”
It definitely shook the game up in a positive way for Stony Brook, as the team came out flying in the middle period.
Just 5:06 into the middle frame, Scimeca’s hard forecheck paid off, as he forced a turnover onto center William Kormanik’s stick in the left faceoff circle. After Kormanik’s shot was turned away, Scimeca was waiting in the right circle to deposit the rebound and cut the Seawolves’ deficit to 3-2.
With all the momentum on its side, Stony Brook evened the game at 3-3 with 12:58 remaining in the second stanza. A pair of Pittsburgh penalties set up a five-on-three power play for the Seawolves and during the waning seconds of it, winger Kyle Nestepny — who played his natural position of defense on Sunday with Stony Brook being hampered by injuries — found Kormanik between the dots, allowing him to wrist a shot over Lindsay’s right shoulder.
In the closing minutes of the second period, Scimeca showcased himself yet again. With 2:05 remaining, he moved in on a two-on-one rush and faked out Lindsay with a smooth deke before tucking the puck past him to give the Seawolves their first lead of the afternoon.
The third period of play saw Stony Brook face heavy pressure from Pittsburgh. Though the Seawolves held strong for most of the third, the Panthers knotted the game up at 4-4 with 36 seconds left in regulation. Following a late Stony Brook penalty, Pittsburgh pulled Lindsay to create a six-on-four situation. With time ticking down, Crupi fed Pazo with a cross-ice pass, who quickly let a shot go that beat Barnikow on his short side for a near carbon copy of his first goal of the contest.
Mirroring game one, Sunday’s overtime featured a fair share of chances for both teams. The game seemed poised for a shootout, but the Seawolves had other ideas.
With Stony Brook applying pressure in the closing seconds of the extra period, Scimeca slid a pass over to Nestepny in the high slot, who wired a one-timer past Lindsay with less than a second left on the clock to complete the sweep and send his team home with a 5-4 win.
During the matinee matchup, the Panthers outshot the Seawolves 46-38 despite the loss. The game was filled with penalties, as Stony Brook converted on one of its four power-play opportunities while killing off six of its seven shorthanded disadvantages.
The sweep was that much more impressive for the Seawolves, as the group gritted their way to a victory despite being severely shorthanded on the back end. Currently, just four of the team’s 11 defensemen are healthy.
“We only had five defensemen,” Garofalo said. “We had to put Nestepny back on D, but he didn’t miss a beat. Thank God because he was one of our best defensemen. The five guys rotated and played really well. I was really impressed. They really stepped up the past two games.”
In the crease, Reganato allowed three goals on the 18 shots he saw before Barnikow made 27 stops on 28 shots to earn the win in relief.
On the other side of the ice, Scimeca was the best player on the rink throughout the weekend, as he led the team with four goals and two assists. Nakagawa notched a goal and two helpers while Liebold, Nestepny, Haskins and Kormanik each netted a goal and added an assist.
Kozicki recorded two assists. Additionally, Gusavitch, defenseman Gavin Connelly and winger Nate LeGrette all registered one assist apiece.
Stony Brook will look to ride its momentum into next weekend’s matchup with a former ESCHL rival — the No. 8 Niagara Purple Eagles — in Lewiston, N.Y. The Purple Eagles are 16-6-3 this season and are coming into the two-game series fresh off of a split with No. 3 Ohio. Puck drops are set for 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Kevin Broderick also contributed reporting.