Stony Brook picked up right where it left off earlier this season in Syracuse, completing a sweep of the teams’ four-game season series with a pair of blowout wins this weekend at The Rinx.
The Seawolves and Orange kicked off the 2021-22 campaign against each other in early October, with both games ending in an 8-1 victory for Stony Brook. Coming off a pair of close loses to Liberty, Stony Brook rebounded with an 8-0 thrashing against Syracuse on Saturday, November 13 followed by a 9-1 win on Sunday, November 14.
Junior goalie Thomas Sullivan was in net for game one of the weekend series, playing in his first game since beating the Orange at Tennity Ice Pavilion in October. Sullivan played well against the Orange once again and earned his first career shutout as a Seawolf. He had no shortage of goal support from his teammates, with Stony Brook scoring early and often throughout the night. Senior defenseman Brendan Pepe kicked off the scoring with a power play goal just over one minute into the first, and senior forward Charles Peck doubled down on the team’s power play success later in period.
Senior forward Joseph Slevin lit the lamp twice in less than three minutes during the early stages of the second period, and freshman forward Sean Kendrick and senior forward Filip Pomianek both found the back of the net to send the Seawolves to the locker room up 6-0 at the second intermission. Junior defenseman Dominick Molfetto scored Stony Brook’s fourth power play goal of the night in his return to the lineup during the third period and minutes later it was Kendrick cashing in once again to make it an 8-0 game.
Sunday’s game marked the first time this season that Stony Brook did not finish with eight goals against Syracuse, with the Seawolves upping the ante to secure a 9-1 win in the season-series finale. Freshman goalie Brandon Sherman got the start for the second game of the weekend and made the most of it, turning away 21 of 22 shots to earn his first ACHA win. He was not the only Seawolf to record a major milestone, though, as the first goal of the day was also sophomore defenseman Brendan Mrotchek’s first at Stony Brook. Slevin’s ninth goal of the year made it 2-0 Stony Brook about five minutes later, but Syracuse struck back on a power play in the final minute of the first period to make it a 2-1 game through 20 minutes.
The late Orange goal gave the visitors some life going into the second period, but the Seawolves quickly extinguished any hope of a comeback with a five-goal effort. Junior forward Gideon Cooper was the first to score in the middle frame followed soon after by junior forward Kyle DePalma’s second of the season. Junior forward Scot Lawson made it a 5-1 game midway through the second and then Peck and Pepe each scored a power play goal to give the Seawolves a 7-1 advantage going into the third period. Peck scored his second goal of the game just a few minutes into the final period and then it was junior defenseman Robert Distefano on a late power play with under a minute remaining in the game to secure Stony Brook’s 9-1 win.
In their four games against each other this season, the Seawolves outscored the Orange by a combined score of 33-3. Pepe, who collected three goals and seven points against Syracuse this year, now leads the nation in power play goals with all seven of his tallies this season coming on the man advantage. He is also tied for fourth in the nation with three game-winning goals through 14 games played.
Stony Brook will finish its current homestand this Friday night, November 19, with a 9:00 p.m. game against the Drexel University Dragons at The Rinx. This game will be our annual food drive to benefit Blessings In A Backpack, an organization which provides for children without a secure source of food when they are away from school. Game two will shift to Philadelphia on Saturday, November 20 with the Seawolves and Dragons playing their last game before the Thanksgiving Break. All home games are played at The Rinx, 660 Terry Road, Hauppauge, NY.
