Playoff-level intensity was in the air Friday night at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, VA. as the 17th ranked Seawolves took on the 12th ranked University of Liberty Flames in a game decided in the most dramatic fashion possible — the second shootout of the season for Stony Brook.
After a scoreless five-minute overtime period, Flames sophomore goalie Blake Scott snuffed the No. 17 Seawolves on their three chances and sophomore forward Owen Harris netted the only goal of the three-round shootout with a backhander through the five hole to lift Liberty to a 3-2 win.
The Seawolves struck first in the opening minute of the second period when forward J.T. Hall, the reigning ACHA DI player of the year, stole the puck in the slot and snuck his shot through traffic in front of the goal and through the five hole into the back of the net.
The score remained 1-0 Stony Brook until the Flames netted the equalizer with 12:36 left in the third with a shot from the point. It took just 47 seconds for Stony Brook to reclaim the lead. Seawolves defenseman Frank Sherding skated around two Liberty defenders in the high slot before veering toward the right corner and crossing the puck into the right crease, where Hall finished past the Liberty goalie for a 2-1 advantage with 11:49 remaining in regulation. The Flames responded nearly as quickly to re-tie the contest only 53 seconds later when senior forward Grant Garvin tipped the puck past Stony Brook goalie, Brendan Rathwell. Stony Brook netted a go-ahead goal with 2:52 to go in the third, but an official “blew his whistle” on the play, overruling the puck crossing the goal line prior to the whistle. However it was clear as day on the jumbo tron at Lahaye Ice Center that the puck crossed the goal line before the official blew his whistle but the play was not reviewable and the call stood.
For the second straight night, Stony Brook struck first, with 5:52 left in the first period, when forward Joe Bochichio, stationed in the right crease, put away a put back of a shot from the high slot blocked by sophomore goalie Blake Scott, who made his second straight start between the pipes. With 1:52 left in the period, freshman forward Basil Reymonds netted the equalizer by launching a shot from the right blue line that jetted through traffic into the upper netting, assisted by sophomore forward Marshal King.
However, after a penalty was assessed to freshman forward Josh Bergen on a solid check along the left boards, Stony Brook capitalized quickly to seize a 2-1 lead in the final 20 seconds of the first period.
Seawolves forward Matthew Crockett won a faceoff in Liberty’s defensive zone before pouncing on the rebound of a shot from the left circle by defenseman Mike Cartwright and punching his second putback past Scott. With 15:25 left in the second period, defenseman Frank Sherding received a pass and fired a shot from the high slot that deflected off the goalie’s stick and in, stretching Stony Brook’s advantage to 3-1. Moments after taking a hard hit against the defensive boards, freshman defenseman Matt Cruickshank pulled the Flames back within 3-2 with 3:23 left in the second stanza after taking a short pass from King and faking a shot in front of a sliding Stony Brook defenseman near the high point, uncorking a shot from the top of the left circle that beat Stony Brook goalie Tyler Huberty.
Given the reprieve, Stony Brook reopened its two-goal advantage by capitalizing on a power play with just over a minute remaining in the period when Brendan Calello slid home the rebound of a shot from the top of the right circle that Scott blocked and stretched to clear out of the crease.
Seconds after gaining a man advantage in the third period, sophomore defenseman Zane Schartz received a pass along the blue line from senior defenseman Ben Hughes and one-timed a slap shot past Huberty into the top right corner of the cage, trimming the deficit back to one goal with 15:46 remaining in regulation. Once again, however, Stony Brook extended its lead to two goals when Calello dug the puck out along the back boards to Bochichio, who flicked a backhanded pass to fellow forward Christ Stemke cutting into the left crease for an easy finish and a 5-3 edge
With 3:49 remaining in regulation, Liberty sophomore forward Colt Steele scored on a chip shot in the right crease off an assist from Garvin in the right corner, though Huberty appeared to block the puck near the right post. That drew the Flames back within 5-4 one night after Stony Brook had a potentially game-winning score disallowed by a whistle in the third period.
Stony Brook outshot Liberty by a 40-30 margin for the contest and Scott made 35 saves in his second setback. Stony Brook outshot Liberty by a 40-30 margin for the contest and Scott made 35 saves in his second setback.
The Seawolves welcome another division opponent, West Chester University on Saturday at 8:30pm and Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm. All home games are played at The Rinx in Hauppauge, 660 Terry Rd. Saturday night will be the Seawolves annual food drive and Sunday Stony Brook will be raising money for the Russ Housman Fundraiser. Come down and cheer on your Seawolves and support two great causes!
