Stony Brook ice hockey went two-for-two to start the season over the weekend, defeating the Villanova Ice Cats, 6-3, on Sunday, a day after it blew Navy out of the water.
The Seawolves are now 2-0 on the season after their opening weekend and lead the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association.
“It’s a great way to start the season,” Stony Brook head coach Chris Garafalo said. “We’ve got some things to work on this week in practice, and we have three tough games ahead of us next weekend.”
The Ice Cats bit first, scoring the first goal of the game during a power play.
However, their lead was short-lived. Stony Brook had a power play a few minutes later, during which Wesley Hawkins (Quarryville, Pa.) scored the Seawolves’ first goal with assists from Pat Foster (Gaithersburg, Md.) and George Nicholes (Prattsville, N.Y.).
Stony Brook struck again a little more than a minute later when Josh Goellner (Oceanport, N.J.) scored his second goal of the season with help from Daniel Cassano (Deer Park, N.Y.) and Josh Brooks (Cold Spring, N.Y.).
The Seawolves came out firing in the second period. John Jennings (Vero Beach, Fla.) scored on a two-on-one with Mike Cacciotti (Staten Island, N.Y.). Bryan Elfant joined the party by knocking in a goal of his own, giving Stony Brook its fourth goal.
The Seawolves again scored two goals in the third period. Cacciotti scored his third goal of the season with an assist from Hawkins five minutes into the period. Jennings put on the finishing touches with help from Cacciotti and Hawkins with less than four minutes to go.
On Friday, Stony Brook hockey started off its season with a bang, scoring three goals within the first minute-and-a-half of the game.
However, Navy didn’t go down without a fight–literally. The game got scrappy midway through the second period and continued to be so throughout the rest of the game, resulting in the ejection of Doug Dietrich of Navy.
The Seawolves finished with a 9-2 win over the Naval Academy.
Though Navy won the opening faceoff, Stony Brook’s Chris Ryan (Flushing, N.Y.) scored the first goal just seven seconds into the game.
Then Sean Collins (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) followed up Ryan’s efforts with Stony Brook’s second goal with 19:19 still on the clock in the first period.
Jennings finished the flurry with a goal of his own, putting Stony Brook up 3-0.
However, the game was not over, as Coach Garofalo would say to his players. “You remind them in the locker room in between periods that they have to play 60 minutes, not 20,” Garafalo said.
Josh Goellner (Oceanport, NJ) broke a brief scoring drought by scoring Stony Brook’s fourth goal of the game in the first period. “I was very impressed with Goellner,” said Garofalo.
Stony Brook would score two more goals in the period, but Navy struck for the first time, scoring the last goal before the first intermission.
However, it would be the Seawolves who scored first in the second period. It would be their first of two in that period, but Navy scored their second goal with a little more than seven minutes left to play.
But that wasn’t the story of the second period. Things began to get chippy approximately seven minutes in, and the players would periodically break out into fights.
“They could’ve been a little more disciplined when things got heated,” Coach Garofalo said, adding he was unsurprised by the actions of the Midshipmen. “Even though they’re in the military, they’re still human. They can still get frustrated.”
Navy certainly had a reason to be frustrated. They only managed 15 shots throughout the game while Stony Brook recorded 60 shots.
One player who let his frustration get the better of him was Doug Dietrich, who was ejected after a major hit from behind on Mike Smith (Merrick, N.Y.). Smith was down for a minute but was able to get up on his own power.
Stony Brook would score one more goal before game’s end, making the final score 9-2. Ryan, Eric Stelnick (Valencia, Calif.) and Cacciotti each recorded three goals.
Cacciotti and Ryan also made two assists each. Bryan Elfant (Belle Harbor, N.Y.) would have the team-high in that category with three.
Nationally ranked Stony Brook will next go on a three-game road trip next weekend
The Seawolves will play Penn State at home on Oct. 16.
