A third period comeback came up short for the Stony Brook hockey team against Delaware Friday night, giving the Seawolves their third consecutive loss since returning from winter break.
After erasing a 2-0 deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation and holding off the Blue Hens’ 5-on-3 man advantage in the early stages of overtime, the Seawolves’ night ended on a sour note when Delaware sophomore forward Chris Mazzella scored the game-winner, earning the Hens a 3-2 victory.
“We were desperate [in the third period],” head coach Chris Garofalo said. “They know that these kinds of games can knock us out of playing in [the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament]. We may have just killed our season by losing to Delaware who is an unranked team.”
The Blue Hens, who have now won their past three meetings with the Seawolves at home, drew within two points of the Seawolves in the Eastern States Collegiate Hockey Association standings after Friday’s overtime win.
The game may not have made it past regulation if not for the efforts of Stony Brook junior defenseman Frank Coscia, who scored both goals to tie the game late in the third period.
“In the third period, we were a different team,” Garofalo said. “It’s just so frustrating that we dominated them in the third period, but it took us until our backs were against the wall to wake up.”
Stony Brook sophomore goaltender Richard Shipman’s solid performance gave his team the opportunity to fight back in the third. Shipman stopped 31 out of 34 pucks thrown his way in the loss, including one in the extra frame.
“Shipman played great,” Garofalo said. “I have no problems with the way he played. He kept us in the game and he gave us a chance to win. His team let him down.”
The Seawolves will need more of the same from Shipman in the absence of sophomore goaltender Payne Yoder, who Garofalo said is out for a few weeks with a lower-body injury.
Shipman currently leads the ESCHL with a .941 save percentage, but that number is sure to go down if the team in front of him can’t find a way to stay out of the penalty box. Stony Brook committed 10 infractions in the loss and was in the box almost two minutes longer than the division average.
“We doubled them in penalties,” Garofalo said. “A big part of our problem is that we’re not disciplined enough to control our sticks or control what we’re doing. I don’t know if it’s just getting in the moment of the game or if we’re just not playing smart. We just haven’t been playing smart hockey when it comes to staying out of the box and that really costs us.”
