Late in the second period with the score tied at two, the Seawolves faced a nearly impossible situation against the Lindenwood Lions. Down two men after penalties to Tom Pacifico and Danny Kentoffio, the powerful Lion offense looked poised to strike. Instead, Angelo Serse used all the extra open ice to create a great scoring chance. He was turned away by Lindenwood goaltender Grahame Lippert.
‘Angelo Serse had a great game,’ team General Manager Chris Garofalo said after the game. ‘He didn’t stop moving his legs, he worked really hard.’
Unfortunately for the Seawolves, it just wasn’t enough. They stuck with the #2 ranked Lions for most of the game, but a lack of depth and discipline did them in by the end.
‘I wasn’t disappointed,’ a somber Garofalo said. ‘The boys played well, I just wish they were a little more disciplined.’
The Seawolves killed off the 5 on 3 Lindenwood advantage late in the second, but a third consecutive penalty was the one that did them in. With 3:30 remaining in the period, Lindenwood’s Cory Spradling broke in on a partial breakaway. He had a defender draped all over him, but was still able to get a shot away. Drue Santora made the initial stop, but Spradling stuffed in the rebound and gave Lindenwood a lead they would not relinquish.
Even after going down 4-2 after 40 minutes, the Seawolves came out strong to start the third, hoping to take one good last shot at the Lions. Their strong play forced Lindenwood to take two penalties, setting up Stony Brook with a two man advantage. They were unable to capitalize, and with 8:53 remaining Lindenwood stuffed all the Stony Brook momentum with a goal to put them up three. They added two more, making the final score a deceiving 7-2.
‘We weren’t dominated at all,’ Garofalo said. ‘The final score was not indicative of how we played.’
Stony Brook jumped out strong at the beginning of the game, taking a 1-0 lead early on a goal by Peter Marek. Lindenwood tied less then three minutes later, but the Seawolves still held a 5-4 shot advantage after the first period.
It seemed the game was playing right into Stony Brook’s hands. Garofalo and Drue Santora had previously spoken of the defensive systems they would need to play in order to hold the mighty Lions offense in check. Their physical play also seemed to knock the Lions back on their heels.
But the Lions, who hail from Missouri, could only be held down for so long. Lindenwood finished their regular season 28-8, and averaged 6.1 goals per game. They had six individual players finish the season with at least 20 goals, and were led by Jake Ebner’s 31.
After falling behind 2-1, Angelo Serse scored an unassisted goal to knot the score at 2. But then Spradling struck to make it 3-2 Lindenwood, and the lead quickly ballooned
For the Seawolves, Garofalo was content with the teams first year at the Division I level. He was especially proud of two of his seniors, defenseman and captain Peter Marek, and the goalie Santora.
‘This was Drue Santora and Peter Marek’s last game,’ Garofalo said. ‘They gave us four great years. They’ll be very missed.’
The Seawolves’ long trip up to Rochester concluded Sunday, with a consolation game against #16 Robert Morris. The game was to end after publication time, but Garofalo was adamant about the games importance.
‘We really need to win that game tomorrow to prove to people [that we belong],’ he said.
The Seawolves will take the long bus ride back to Stony Brook, and arrive home amid little fan fare. They’ll get back to the grind, get ready for opening night next October, no doubt looking to repeat their successful first year as a Division I club.
