Stevenson Overtime Goal Downs Wilkes Men's Ice Hockey
WILKES-BARRE – The Colonels tied the game with less than four minutes in the third period behind a Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA) goal to send the matchup into overtime, but the Mustangs would score at the 1:31 mark as the Wilkes University men's ice hockey team would fall to Stevenson University in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) and Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) competition on Friday night inside the Toyota SportsPlex.
Wilkes would fall to 12-9-1 on the year, 10-7-0 in UCHC contests, and 7-2 in the MAC. Stevenson, who is receiving votes in the USCHO national poll, would improve to 14-9-1 on the season, 12-6-1 in UCHC competition, and keep a perfect 9-0 record in the MAC. With this win, Stevenson would claim the MAC championship.
The game began with both teams being physical, blocking shots and not allowing many opportunities to get any off. The Colonels would lead the shot category in the first period, taking 17 shots compared to the Mustangs 10. Michael Paterson-Jones (Baldwinsville, NY) would keep hold of the tie for Wilkes while Ryan Kenny held down the goal for Stevenson in that period.
The Mustangs nearly got on the board at the 16:04 mark as Anthony Starzi had an open net in front of him, but it hit the pipe and went away from the net as the first period ended scoreless.
The second period was the same, but Stevenson began to get their footing with an offensive attack as they outshot the Colonels 15-12 in the period. The tie would eventually break as Liam McCanney scored with 12 seconds left in the second, giving Stevenson a 1-0 lead heading into the third period.
Wilkes would try to get the game tied, pushing their offense up against Stevenson, but the Mustang's defense held strong as they only allowed nine shots for the Colonels. But Wilkes would catch a break as Stevenson would be penalized for tripping, giving the Colonels a power play.
With Stevenson holding strong and pushing the Colonels to their side, Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI) would get the puck to the Mustang's side, trying to pass it to Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY). After some shoving near the boards, a Stevenson player would hit the puck away, but Cocchi would catch it and drive down to the goal, make Kenny move a second before he shot it in at 16:31 mark on a power play that was three seconds away to expire, tying the game up for Wilkes. Eventually, neither team would convert on their shot attempts as the game would go into overtime.
In overtime, Wilkes would take three shots in less than a minute, with none of them going in. After a faceoff, Stevenson would get the puck as Aiden Graham got it behind their goal, skating down. He would pass it to McCanney, who would skate back and give himself time as he drove down. His initial shot was saved by Paterson-Jones, but he got a rebound shot that went into the net, giving the Mustangs the win in the UCHC and the MAC title.
Ben Stefanini (Framingham, MA) led Wilkes in shots with eight with Billy Berry (Redding, CT) following behind with five. Cocchi, Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep), and Scott Mueller (Nashville, TN) all tied with four shots. Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ) led the Colonels with four blocks while O'Kane, Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN), and Ryan Galvin (Atlanta, GA) had two apiece each. Carlson won 12 of his faceoffs, with O'Kane winning 11, Berry winning nine, and Cocchi winning two. Paterson-Jones saved 36 of the 38 shot attempts against him on the night.
Wilkes will look to finish strong in conference competition as they will take on the Mustangs tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in UCHC and MAC competition as they honor their seniors on Senior Night.
