The Seawolves’ were unable to come home from Adrian, Michigan with a win, dropping two games to the No. 3 team in the nation. Despite the pair of defeats, Stony Brook showed that it is capable of playing with the nation’s top schools.
It appeared at first that the two-game series might turn into a one-sided affair. The Bulldogs found the back of the net early and often in the first period of Friday night’s game, taking a 5-0 lead with the first three goals coming on a five-minute major penalty to Seawolves senior forward Brad Riccardi. The fifth goal against proved to be junior goalie Sean Keating’s last of the weekend and junior goalie Richard Shipman entered the game.
The goalie change was a critical moment of the game and kickstarted the Seawolves’ offense. The team scored two power play goals before the end of the first period and showed relentless resiliency in their efforts to mount a comeback. Stony Brook overcame two separate five-goal deficits to battle back and come within a goal of Adrian. With the score 7-6 Bulldogs, the Seawolves pulled Shipman late for an extra attacker but ultimately couldn’t find an equalizer.
Stony Brook outscored Adrian six goals to two following the goalie change including two tallies from senior defenseman Frank Coscia and junior defenseman Dan Moore’s first goal as a Seawolf.
Saturday afternoon’s rematch did not feature the same offensive explosion as game one, but the intensity was equally as high. Coscia scored his third of the weekend to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period, continuing an impressive start to the second half. Unfortunately, this would be Stony Brook’s only goal of the day.
Shipman was once again pulled in final minutes of regulation in an attempt to erase a one-goal deficit, but Bulldogs junior forward Mark Fratarcangeli shot the puck into the empty net to secure a 3-1 victory.
“Although we didn’t get the results we wanted, I was proud of how our guys competed the entire weekend and never gave up,” Head Coach Chris Garofalo said. “A lot of teams when they are down 5-0 would have packed it in but we didn’t. We kept fighting and almost pulled off a huge comeback against a very good Adrian team. It just shows a lot of character about the group of guys we have and with that kind of mindset we can compete with anyone in the country.”
Stony Brook will look to get back in the win column this weekend in its home-and-home with New York University. The team will return home on Saturday, February 2 at 8:30 p.m. All home games are played at The Rinx in Hauppauge, 660 Terry Road.
