EDWARDSVILLE, PA – The Wilkes University Colonels hosted Lycoming for a late season Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom showdown with their new conference rival.
 
The Colonels (3-6, 3-4 MACF) struggled early on, but a four goal fourth quarter pushed them past the Warriors (0-8, 0-6) in the final minutes of play by an 11-10 margin.
 
The Warriors scored the first three goals on the night, before junior Alex Myers (Cortland, NY/Cortland) put the Colonels on the board just before the first quarter wrapped at :28.  Lycoming responded early in the second period, but the Colonels struck back with the next two goals.  Junior Ethan Weaver (Olney, MD/James Hubert Blake) put the first of the two on the board at 9:23 with help from junior Eric Ormsby (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley), followed by senior Nico Lorenzo (Howell, NJ/Howell) netting the first of his five goals on the night at 3:45 with the assist from first year Colby Opromolla (Patterson, NY/Carmel).
 
Lycoming answered with a goal less than a minute later at 2:39, but junior Kyle Sokol (Queensbury, NY/Queensbury) got more help from Opromolla at :30 to go into the half down 5-4.  Lycoming scored at 14:17 and 14:06 in the third period to put the Colonels on the back foot, but Lorenzo stopped the bleeding with a man-down goal at 10:33 with help from junior Luke Palladino (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh), and followed that up with an unassisted shot at 6:50.  The Warriors built the lead back to three with goals at 3:24 and 2:01, but Palladino from Myers at 1:18 put the Colonels down only two heading into the decisive fourth quarter.
 
The first five minutes of the period were quiet offensively, with the teams trading penalties instead of points.  Opromolla found the net at 9:18 from Palladino, before Myers tied it up at nine all with an unassisted shot at 4:57.  Lycoming took the lead back at 4:11, but the Colonels refused to back down.  Lorenzo found the net at 1:32 to bring it back to a tie at 10.   The Warriors had the ball with less than a minute left and the opportunity to burn the clock, but an early blocked shot followed up by a critical ground ball from first year Brendan Keegan (Middletown, NY/Pine Bush) gave the Colonels one last opportunity in regulation.  Lorenzo finished the night with the game-winner and his fifth goal at :31, before senior Jamison Shaw (Marmora, NJ/Ocean City) put the game on ice with a critical faceoff victory and ground ball.
 
Lorenzo scored five goals on nine shots to lead the Colonels in both categories on the evening.  Eight different Colonels recorded points, with Myers and Palladino each having three.  First year Matthew Warns (Cutchogue, NY/Mattituck) led the Colonels with six ground balls, while Shaw posted five. 
 
Seven different Warriors scored on the evening, with Blake Premo and Owen Zimmerman each recording double digit shots with 15 and 13 respectively.
 
The Colonels continue their trek through the end of their regular season by playing their first of two back to back games against MAC Commonwealth foes.  They play host to Albright College at 1:00 p.m. at the Ralston Athletic Complex this upcoming Saturday for Senior Day.