The No. 10-ranked Stony Brook hockey team had a successful weekend both on and off the ice, sweeping Syracuse in back-to-back blowout wins and introducing two brand new theme nights.
The Seawolves hosted their first annual Hockey is for Everyone Night on Saturday, February 15th at The Rinx. The team celebrated diversity and inclusion in hockey, inviting nearly 100 student clubs to attend and take part in the event. Players used rainbow-colored Pride Tape on their sticks, with many choosing to use it for the entire weekend.
“Hockey is for everyone, all sports should be for everyone,” junior forward Aiden Boehm said. “We used Pride Tape to support the LGBTQ* community as well as all communities to show our continuous love and support to everyone. Our team looks forward to continuing to support all communities in the upcoming seasons and make sure that all people are welcome in our game and are proud of who they are.”
The crowd was treated to a great game on Saturday night, with the home team never trailing from start to finish. Junior forward Keith O’Brien scored the only goal of the first period, sending the Seawolves to the locker room with a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. The Orange responded early in the second period with a tying goal, but the score didn’t remain even for long. Stony Brook scored five of the next six goals to open the floodgates and secure a 6-2 advantage after two periods of play.
Sophomore forward Dustin Rinaldo and senior defenseman Kyle Huhn started the scoring spree with a pair of goals just 13 seconds apart. Syracuse managed to cut the lead in half, but freshman forward Devin Pepe, freshman defenseman Davin Van de Zilver, and Rinaldo lit the lamp three more times before the second intermission. Boehm and Van de Zilver each found the back of the net in the third period, finishing off a big 8-2 win.
The Seawolves’ high-octane offense was on display once again in game two on Sunday, February 16th, with the team jumping out to a 4-0 first-period lead. Junior forward Joey Slevin scored Stony Brook’s first goal of the day just under five minutes into the game. The 1-0 lead remained unchanged for about 10 minutes until freshman forward Michael Galinski kicked off a span of 1:16 in which the Seawolves scored on three consecutive shots, with Rinaldo and freshman defenseman Robert Distefano picking up the team’s third and fourth goals, respectively.
O’Brien notched the only goal of the second frame, and senior defenseman Mike Kowicki’s second of the year increased the lead to 6-0 in the third. Though Syracuse put an end to senior goalie Sean Keating’s shutout bid with a third-period goal of their own, Stony Brook finished strong and skated to a 6-1 final score.
Sunday’s theme was Sports Club Day, which aimed to bring as many of Stony Brook’s club teams together as possible. Student attendance was higher than average all weekend long, and the team is excited to bring back and expand both of these successful events next season.
As the regular season winds down, the Seawolves will head to Rhode Island this weekend for a two-game series against the Rams. The games will be on Friday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 22nd at 4:00 p.m.
