REISTERSTOWN, Md. – The Wilkes men's ice hockey team's run to the UCHC Tournament Finals came up just short Saturday afternoon as the team fell to two-seeded Stevenson University 4-3 in an overtime heartbreaker at the Reisterstown SportsPlex.

The Colonels finished their season with an 18-9-0 record after going 15-5-0 in the UCHC during the regular season. The team placed third in the conference standings with 42 points. The No. 14 Mustangs improved to 21-5-1 overall and will face the winner of the Utica/Alvernia semifinal game for the UCHC title next Saturday.
 
Wilkes got on the board first after a no-angle shot by Lorenzo Marcolin (Saratoga Springs, NY/) grazed off the Mustangs' goaltender and found the stick of Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI), who was crashing the net. Roginski clapped a one-timer to the back of the net to give the Colonels a 1-0 lead at 7:08. Marcolin and Joe Johnson (Midland, MI/) tallied assists on the play.
 
Following a lengthy stretch of back-and-forth action, Stevenson found some momentum in their offensive zone. The hosts tied the game up at 16:15 of the first when Evan Beers notched his sixth goal of the season with assists going out to Frank Vitucci and Graeme McCrory.
 
Stevenson headed to their first power play of the afternoon late in the period, but were unable to capitalize due to a blocked shot by Billy Berry (Redding, CT) and one save by Colonel goaltender Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD).
 
After 20 minutes of play, the teams were tied 1-1. Wilkes outshot the Mustangs 10-8 and won 11 of 19 draws at the dot.
 
The Colonels opened the second period with a prime scoring chance from Mason Vonk (West Olive, MI/), however his bid was turned aside by the Mustangs' goaltender.

Stevenson took their first lead of the afternoon at 2:21 when Eric Olson slid a pass over to Kyle Lightfoot, who buried a shot to the left side of Wilkes net to take control of a 2-1 lead. Olson and Jake Roberts were credited with assists on Lightfoot's third of the season.
 
Shortly after the 2-1 marker, the Colonels headed to a power play and set up shop in the Stevenson end of the ice. After shots by Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) and Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY/), Wilkes cashed in on the man advantage when a blocked shot from Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI/) trickled through traffic to Jimmy O'Kane (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame Prep). O'Kane backhanded a one-timer past Mustang netminder Ty Outen to even the score back up at 2-2 with Blomquist and Johnson tallying helpers on the power play goal at 4:13.
 
It didn't take the Mustangs long to answer back, as Matt Yeager picked up a mishandled puck in the Colonels' defensive zone and fed a pass to John Musella. Musella lit the lamp with a one-timer at 5:19 to regain the lead just over a minute after O'Kane's goal. Yeager and Liam McCanney assisted on the play.
 
The furious pace of play continued as Wilkes sent four unanswered shots on net, including a great scoring opportunity for Swain who was stopped on a backhanded shot attempt. Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ/) drew an interference call at 11:05 to send the Colonels back on the man advantage with an opportunity to knot the game back up.
 
While on the man advantage, Berry circled around the Stevenson goal and fed a pass to Roginski, who was parked inside the faceoff circle. The sophomore wristed a shot past Outen for his second of the day to make it a 3-3 contest. Berry and Jungwirth snagged helpers on the goal at 11:45.
 
The Mustangs made a strong push in the final five minutes of the middle frame, however five huge saves by Perna kept the puck out of Wilkes' net. After play calmed down for a brief stretch, things amped right back up when an errant pass in the Colonels' zone found the stick of a Stevenson attacker in the slot. Johnson single-handedly prevented an excellent scoring chance by diving to disrupt the shot before engaging with the Mustang forward and taking him to the boards.
 
After a chaotic 20 minutes of action, Wilkes and Stevenson found themselves locked at 3-3 heading to the final period. The Mustangs led in the shots department 15-12 while the Colonels won 19 of 29 faceoffs and notched two power play goals.
 
Sensing the implications of the next goal, both teams played each other very carefully to start the third period. Just over five minutes into the final frame, Johnson and Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA/) registered shots on goal in short succession but were unable to beat Outen.
 
Stevenson began to find a rhythm in the Wilkes end of the ice, but two stops by Perna kept the teams knotted at three goals apiece.
 
The Wilkes penalty kill unit faced their biggest test of the day midway through the third when the team picked up a five minute major at 9:44. Jungwirth came up clutch with a timely block, while Perna recorded three massive saves to finish off the tense five-minute penalty kill. The Wilkes fans in attendance erupted as the team returned to even strength.
 
Despite numerous scoring chances off of clean offensive zone entries, neither team was able to clinch the seventh goal of the game before regular time expired.
 
Following a full 60 minutes of action, Stevenson held a slight 33-29 advantage in shots. Wilkes won 40 faceoffs to the Mustangs' 26 and blocked 13 total shots. The Colonels successfully killed all three penalties they faced, while Perna made 30 saves between the pipes.
 
Perhaps one of the strangest plays of the season came in the early stages of overtime when Spetz's stick was knocked out of his hands and launched over the glass, colliding with a ceiling light in the corner of the rink. The Colonels' defense adjusted accordingly and were able to get a stoppage in play to retrieve the stick.
 
The Colonels' hopes to advance to the UCHC Finals were dashed at 2:33 when Lightfoot backhanded a centering pass that hit a skate and froze, loose in front of the goal. An attempt to dump the puck to the corner boards was intercepted by Lightfoot, who ended the game with an unassisted tally and sent the Mustangs rushing over the boards to celebrate the overtime win.
 
Roginski put up a pair of goals on four shots for Wilkes, tying him with Miles Harrington (McDonough, GA) and Swain for the team lead in shots on goal. Berry won 13 faceoffs while Johnson blocked a game-high four shots. Perna made 31 saves in net for the Colonels.
 
Lightfoot was the overtime hero, collecting two goals on three shots. McCanney led the team with 4 shots on goal and Musella won nine draws at the dot. Between the pipes, Outen stopped 28 shots.