No. 1 Wilkes Men's Ice Hockey Welcome No. 4 Alvernia for MAC Semifinals
WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes men's ice hockey team is set to host Alvernia at the Toyota Sportsplex on Saturday, March 1, for their semifinal matchup in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Tournament. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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The Colonels concluded their regular season with a 16-7-2 overall record and went 16-3-2 in conference play, ending with 51 points following a 5-0 win over Alvernia on February 15.
The team outscored their opponents 91-59 and were .297 percent on power plays (27-for-91) while killing off penalties at .859 percent (55-for-64). Wilkes went .508 percent from the faceoff circle, winning 832 faceoffs this season.
Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN) leads the team and is fifth in the conference in points with 25 total, averaging 1.00 per game. Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) is sixth in the conference in goals with 12 total, and Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY) leads in average goals per game with .64. Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI) and Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO) recorded nine and eight goals. Roginski is second on the team in points with 22 and Jungwirth is second in the conference in assists with 22. Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA) is eighth in the conference in shots, recording 84 and Swain leads the conference in game winning goals with five.
Nate Terski (North Grafton, MA) leads the team in plus minus, sitting at a plus-17 player rating and is ranked third in the conference. Jungwirth leads the team and is second in the conference in blocked shots with 42 and Jordan leads the team in faceoff wins with 217 followed by Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA) with 149. Swain and Miles Harrington (McDonough, GA) lead the Colonels in power play goals with five and four each.
Goaltender Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD) started 17 out of the 25 games and had a 9-6-1 record. Perna ranked third in the conference with a .930 save percentage and second in goals against average with a 2.20. He recorded 468 total saves while earning one shutout.
The Colonels two ties of the season came against Alvernia on the road in January before Wilkes shutout the Golden Wolves two weeks ago at home for senior day.
Alvernia went 11-12-2 overall and 9-10-2 in conference play.
The Golden Wolves outscored their opponents by a 85-81 margin and were strong in shots percentage with 85 goals on 882 shots. Alvernia killed off penalties at a .796 percent rate (78-for-98) and won faceoffs .513 percent of the time.
Joey Arnold led the Golden Wolves in points this season with 18 and leads the team in assists with 12. Frazer Dodd led the team in goals and is 11th in the conference with nine. Matthew Davies and Lucas Ochitwa had the team high in plus minus, both with a plus eight player rating.
Nolan Barrett and Will White both lead the team in power play goals with two each and Matthew Imbriano leads the team and is fifth in the conference in short handed goals with one. Barrett had the team high in game winning goals with two along with White. Easton Inglis had the team high in faceoff wins with 224.
Goaltender Jacob Stern went 7-7-2 this season, making 16 appearances over 25 games. He is eighth in the conference in goals against average with a 3.02 average and has recorded one shutout this season.
The winner of this game will play either No. 2 Stevenson or No. 3 Neumann in the MAC finals next Saturday, March 8.
