The Stony Brook hockey team took to the road this weekend for a pair of games against the Delaware Blue Hens. Despite sitting 15 spots behind the Seawolves in the ACHA National Rankings entering the series, the Blue Hens proved to be a difficult opponent for the No. 7 team in the nation.
Delaware never trailed in game one on Friday, January 31st, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead. Junior forward Joseph Slevin evened the score later in the first period, but another Delaware goal sent Stony Brook into the first intermission trailing by one. Senior forward Nick Belger tied the game once again in the third period with his 13th goal of the season, but the Seawolves were not able to take a lead. The Blue Hens lit the lamp twice in the remainder of regulation time to secure the 4-2 upset win.
Stony Brook came back with a much stronger effort in the second game of the weekend. Senior goalie Sean Keating backstopped the Seawolves to a 33-save shutout to earn his fourth win of the second semester. Sophomore forward Ian Keller opened the scoring in the first with his third goal in six games as a Seawolf to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman defenseman Davin Van de Zilver and junior defenseman Brendan Pepe both found the back of the net in the second period to give Stony Brook a 3-0 advantage through 40 minutes, and Slevin’s second goal of the weekend made it a 4-0 game in the third period. The Seawolves’ penalty kill held the Blue Hens off the board in all five power play opportunities, and Stony Brook put its two-game skid in the rearview mirror.
The Seawolves will be on the road once again this weekend when they travel to Ohio for a series with the No. 6 Bobcats. The games will be played at Bird Arena on Friday, February 7th at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 8th at 7:30 p.m.
