The Stony Brook hockey team was leading New York University 4-2 midway through the third period at Chelsea Piers on Friday night. They held a 52-29 advantage in shots heading into overtime and dominated possession to start the extra frame.
Then, in an all too common turn of events, an offensive pinch sent Violets sophomore defenseman Giancarlo Pochintesta and sophomore forward Scott Mulligan up the ice 2-on-1. Pochintesta slid the puck to Mulligan, in which he fired it home, and the Seawolves went home with another disappointing loss.
“We were up 4-2 with 10 minutes left to go,” head coach Chris Garofalo said. “There’s no reason why we ever should have lost that game. This is a game that will haunt us if we don’t make nationals.”
Stony Brook entered the night ranked No. 14 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings, but a loss to 26th-ranked NYU may cause them to fall lower on the list. The top 17 teams qualify for the national tournament.
The first 60 minutes were a rollercoaster for the Seawolves, who fell behind the Violets 1-0 in the first period despite putting two times as many shots on goal as the home team. The Seawolves came out in the second period with new life and quickly erased the deficit when junior defenseman Frank Coscia snuck one in from the blue line within the first minute.
Coscia, who has tallied nine points in the past six games, registered his second goal of the night about four minutes into the middle frame, wrapping around the net and going top shelf on his backhand to give Stony Brook a 2-1 lead. With senior defenseman and captain Frank Sherding out of the lineup for personal reasons, Coscia stepped up and kept the team on track.
“Coscia had a great game and he played really well,” Garofalo said. “This semester he’s really been a bright spot for us.”
The Seawolves built their lead to 4-2 with 10:44 remaining in regulation time, but the Violets responded with two goals in the next two minutes to tie the game. The Seawolves are now 2-3 in overtime this season.