WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's ice hockey team protected their home ice this Wednesday as the Colonels defeated Chatham University 5-1 in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 UCHC Tournament at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
Wilkes improved to 18-8-0 overall with the win, while Chatham saw their season come to an end with a 11-15-0 record. The team will now face No. 2 seed Stevenson University on the road in the semifinal round. 
 
Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI) and Billy Berry (Redding, CT) set the tone on defense early in the contest as both players blocked shots less than four minutes into the game to prevent shots from reaching goaltender Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD).
 
The Colonels struck first at 8:07 after Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) stripped the puck away from a Chatham attacker and sprung Miles Harrington (McDonough, GA) with an east-west pass. Harrington protected the puck through the neutral zone and found Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN/) with space ahead of him in the offensive zone. Jungwirth got the Cougars' netminder to bite on a deke and sent a backhand shot to the back of the net. Wilkes took a 1-0 lead on Jungwirth's fourth of the season with assists going out to Harrington and Swain.
 
Chatham responded with three shots following the goal, however Perna stood tall and kept the Cougars off the board.
 
Wilkes was penalized for a trip at 15:15, sending Chatham to the first power play of the game with the chance to knot the score up. The Colonel penalty kill unit was strong in their first action of the evening as Joe Johnson (Midland, MI/) blocked a shot and Perna made three more saves to keep the one-goal advantage intact.
 
Wilkes found themselves deep in their own zone late in the period, however a sweeping stick check by Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep) freed the puck to Berry, who tore down the ice to create a two-on-one with Daniel Nau (Wake Forest, NC). As a defender closed in on Berry, he sent a quick pass to an open Nau who buried a one-timer to double the lead at 18:57 of the first frame. O'Kane and Berry recorded assists on Nau's third of the season.
 
The Colonels exited the ice with a two-goal lead after 20 minutes of play. The Cougars held a slight 9-7 advantage in shots in the first period while Wilkes won 12 of 21 faceoffs.
 
Early in the second, a pair of blocked shots by Luke Dobles (Spencerport, NY/) and Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/) prevented the puck from reaching Perna's crease.
 
After O'Kane brought the puck around the offensive zone and was engaged in a board battle with a Chatham defender, the puck came loose to Nau. Nau centered a pass to a wide open Berry in front of the net, who faked a move to his left and tucked the puck past the goalie's outstretched pad to expand the Wilkes lead to three goals. O'Kane and Nau picked up helpers on Berry's twelfth of the campaign at 2:51 of the second period.
 
Chatham answered back by sending a barrage of nine unanswered shots towards Perna, however blocks by Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY/), Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ/), Jungwirth and Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA/) kept the majority of the opportunities away from the net.
 
The Cougars would get on the board at 18:02 of the middle frame when Bekk McClaine lit the lamp after a lengthy stretch of offensive zone possession. Nick Cyprian and Caden Smith assisted on the 3-1 goal and injected life into Chatham's bench prior to the second intermission.
 
With 40 minutes in the books, Wilkes held onto their 3-1 lead. The Colonels dominated the faceoff circles, winning 19 of 28 draws. Chatham possessed a narrow edge in the shot department, outshooting Wilkes 12-10.
 
Perna was tested early in the third with three shots in the first four minutes of action. The junior turned aside all three scoring attempts to protect the Colonels' two-goal advantage.
 
Wilkes was awarded their first man advantage of the evening at 4:05 thanks to a holding call. Although the power play unit wasn't able to cash in, they generated solid pressure to maintain the team's momentum from the first two periods.

Shortly after the power play expired, Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI/) made a great play at the blue line to knock down a clearing attempt in the Cougar's end of the ice. He slid a pass over to Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY/), who collected the puck and ripped a wrist shot past the goaltender to tack on a 4-1 marker. Blomquist and Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO/) assisted on Marcolin's first of the season at 7:02.
 
Both teams played each other very closely in the final frame as the Cougars desperately searched for a goal to get themselves back into the contest.
 
With roughly four minutes to go in regulation, Chatham's coach pulled their goalie to create a six-on-five situation for the visitors.
 
Despite a ferocious attack by the Cougars, Wilkes maintained their composure and were able to clear the puck out of their zone. Berry delivered the knockout blow with an empty net tally at 19:27 with Nau and Jungwirth collecting helpers on the play.
 
Wilkes would coast through the remainder of regulation and when the clock hit zeros, the bench spilled onto the ice to celebrate punching their ticket to the UCHC semifinals.
 
O'Kane and Nau put together three-point performances with a goal and two assists each. Carlson and Berry split the team lead with five shots on goal, while Spetz laid his body on the line to block four shots. Perna was lights out in net, stopping 31 of 32 shots he faced for a .969 save percentage.
 
McClaine potted the Cougar's lone goal of the evening while Cristian Adragna led the team with five shots. Cameron Kuntar put together a 24-save performance in net.
 
The Colonels will skate into the 2024 UCHC Tournament semifinals when they face the No. 2 seed Stevenson Mustangs on Saturday, February 24. Puck drop is slated for 3:00 p.m.