The Hartford Hawks came into LaValle Stadium with an 0-10 record. On Saturday, however, the Hawks looked nothing like a winless team.
Trailing 7-6 going into the final period of play, the Seawolves looked to take a lead, and hold it. “Hartford had a good scheme. They played well and kept our offense out of sink for the first three quarters,” head coach Rick Sowell said.
Hartford held the ball for a majority of the time in the first quarter. They were able to keep it in the Stony Brook zone and out of the hands of the attackers. Freshman Jordan McBride was able to get possession in the Hartford zone and opened up the scoring seven minutes into the game on a feed from Senior Bobby Trenkle.
The second quarter saw some more of the same type of play from both teams. Senior Owen Adams scored 16 minutes later for the Seawolves to take a two goal lead. After a Hartford goal, McBride tallied another goal, getting in front of the net to take a close shot. Up to that point, Hartford had done a great job of keeping the attack out of the middle, limiting the Seawolves to perimeter shots. The Hawks scored twice more to go into the half knotted at three.
Goalie Alex Kajencki did not make a save in the first half, which tied a school mark set back in 1998. He didn’t need to make many saves, however, since Hartford tallied only eight shots in the first half. He would end the game with only two saves, a school record. Both saves came in the fourth quarter. “We had a good defensive game,” Sowell said. “Alex made the save when we needed them most, in the 4th quarter.” Hartford only had 17 shots in the game.
The third quarter opened up with a Hartford goal, which gave them their first lead of the evening. Freshman Kevin Crowley countered with a goal a minute later, and an assist two minutes later on an Adam’s goal which gave the Seawolves the lead back. Crowley scored again after another Hawk’s goal. Crowley and McBride each had five shots on goal, leading the team. Hartford then tied it up again, and took the lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.
“Not winning face-offs and not making saves, it was a recipe for an upset,” said Sowell.
McBride opened up the scoring in the fourth quarter. He was followed shortly after by Senior Bo Tripodi first goal of the game, and what would prove to be the game winner. Crowley hit him streaking into the middle, which left Tripodi with a wide open shot. The Seawolves would tack on three more goals to ensure the win.
“Will and determination took over in the fourth quarter. We stepped it up, and came out with the win.”
The Seawolves will hit the road next week, traveling to Binghamton to take on the Bearcats. Binghamton holds a 1-2 (3-5) record. This past weekend, they beat Vermont 6-5, and will look to continue to their strong play. The game starts Saturday at 2:00 PM.
