The Seawolves picked up where they left off in the first weekend of the second half, sweeping the No. 5-ranked Michigan-Dearborn Wolverines on the road to extend their active seven-game winning streak.
The sweep continued Stony Brook’s upward movement in the national rankings, with the team moving up to No. 6 in the nation
Senior forward Nick Belger was key to Stony Brook’s 4-3 win on Sunday, January 19th, scoring a trio of first period goals for his first hat trick of the season. Belger’s scoring spree gave the Seawolves a 3-0 lead at the first intermission, but the Wolverines showed resilience in the second period. Michigan-Dearborn managed a full comeback in the opening 15 minutes of the second to tie the game at 3-3. Stony Brook managed to stop the momentum swing there, however, and sophomore forward Ian Keller found the back of the net in his first game as a Seawolf to regain a 4-3 lead for his team. Despite third period pressure, senior goalie Sean Keating held his ground and stopped all Wolverine shots en route to his second win of the season.
Game two on Monday, January 20th was somewhat of a role reversal for the teams, as Michigan-Dearborn scored twice in the first period to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Stony Brook began chipping away at the deficit late in the second period, when freshman forward Devin Pepe scored to cut the lead in half. Then, at the 7:49 mark of the third period, freshman forward Michael Conlin tied the game with his eighth tally of the season. The game would remain tied until the end of regulation, sending it into overtime and eventually a shootout. Stony Brook completed the comeback with a pair of shootout goals from junior defenseman Brendan Pepe and junior forward Chuckie Peck, securing the 3-2 win.
The No. 6 Seawolves now shift their attention to this weekend’s matchup against the No. 2 Liberty Flames. The Seawolves will host their division rivals on Saturday, January 25th at 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, January 26that 3:30 p.m. All home games are played at The Rinx, 660 Terry Road, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
