After taking a month off over the holidays, the Stony Brook Ice Hockey team continued their quest for a spot in the national championship tournament in Rochester.
The Seawolves moved up to 15th in the Division I rankings released on Jan. 18. The rankings encompassed all games played through Jan. 13. ‘I think most of us felt we should have been ranked higher,’ goaltender Drue Santora said in an e-mail exchange. ‘We beat West Virginia 3-0, and they are ranked two spots ahead of us. We also split with Oakland, but instead of us moving up significantly they slid down.’
The second half of the season started out with two home games against Niagara, who at the time was ranked #14. The Seawolves were able to sweep the weekend series with two one goal wins. The first contest was a 4-3 victory. Santora made 23 saves and sophomore forward Mauricio Torres led the offense with a goal and an assist. Dan Kentoffio, Angelo Serse and leading scored Ryan Hodkinson also contributed goals. In the second game Stony Brook had a 55-25 shot advantage, but only came away with a 3-2 win. Goalie Derek Stevens made 23 stops.
‘The Niagara sweep was big just because it will automatically keep them behind us no matter who they beat,’ Santora said. ‘It actually helps if they can beat some big teams, because they would likely move up and we would stay ahead of them.’
The following weekend, Jan. 11-14, the team traveled to Michigan for three games. Friday and Saturday night saw the team battle last seasons Division I champions Oakland. In the first game, Angelo Serse netted the game winner 15 minutes into overtime, giving the Seawolves the 2-1 upset win. Santora was in goal, and made 35 saves. Kentoffio had the other goal for Stony Brook. It was the first time that Stony Brook had ever beaten the Oakland club. The second game was tight until the third period, when Oakland was able to blow it open and take the game 6-3. Serse added two more goals, and Hodkinson potted another.
‘Unfortunately, the game was much closer than the score showed, but all the ranking committee sees is the scores,’ Santora said about the loss. The final game of the trip was a 3-2 victory over the Michigan Wolverines. Serse extended his goal scoring streak to six games during the contest. ‘The weekend as a whole was a success, and beating last year’s champions shows that we have what it takes to compete with everyone,’ Santora said about the weekend.
The team returned home the following weekend to play their final set of home games during the break. In a lackluster performance on Saturday night, the team defeated Marist 4-1. Although the Seawolves controlled the play, there were not many scoring chances either way until the third period. Santora turned aside 21 shots in picking up the victory. The next afternoon Stony Brook beat Villanova 2-0. The game was tight throughout until an empty net goal late in the third period.
Looking forward, the teams most important remaining game is against league rival Westchester, who won the teams first meeting of the season 5-3 at the Rinx in November. ”Westchester is a monstrous game for us, and losing badly can likely eliminate us from (the) rankings,’ Santora said. ‘Hopefully we come out of there with a W, which should solidify our place in nationals.’ On the game itself, Santora said, ‘Beating West Chester will require extremely strong defense in our own zone. Their team is all offense, and it’s really only one line, so if we can shut that one line down I think we will have a very good chance of winning the game.’ The teams final two home games are Jan. 29 at 10:30PM against Hofstra, and Feb. 2 at 8:10PM against Wagner. The last game of the season features a match up against Penn State, which is currently ranked #2 in the nation. That game is basically a tune up for the teams hopeful spot in the national tournament, as the final rankings that determine which 16 teams will go to Rochester for the tournament will be released on Feb. 15, and take into account all games played through February 10.
‘We are definitely not a lock for nationals,’ Santora said. ‘We just have to keep plugging.’
