No. 1 Wilkes Men's Ice Hockey Host No. 2 Stevenson for MAC Championship Finals
WILKES-BARRE - The Wilkes University men's ice hockey team will be welcoming Stevenson to the Toyota Sportsplex on Saturday, March 8, for the Middle-Atlantic Conference (MAC) Championship Finals game. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Tickets
Ticket Pricing
Adults: $8
Seniors: $6
Youth: $6
All students with a MAC school ID: Free
Men's Preview
The Colonels concluded their regular season with a 16-7-2 overall record and went 16-3-2 in conference play. The men increased to 17-7-2 overall after defeating Alvernia 6-0 in the MAC semifinals game last weekend.
The team outscored their opponents 97-59 and were .302 percent on power plays (29-for-96) while killing off penalties at .868 percent (59-for-68). Wilkes went .510 percent from the faceoff circle, winning 875 faceoffs this season.
Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN) leads the team and is fifth in the conference in points with 26 total, averaging 1.00 per game. Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) is fifth in the conference in goals with 13 total, and Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY) leads in average goals per game with .67. Patrick Roginski (Shelby Twp., MI) and Cam Lowe (Lancaster, MA) both recorded nine goals. Roginski is second on the team in points with 25 and Jungwirth is first in the conference in assists with 23. Lowe is eighth in the conference in shots, recording 91 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 second 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 225 followed by Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA) with 202. Swain and Miles Harrington (McDonough, GA) lead the Colonels in power play goals with six and four each.
Goaltender Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD) started 18 out of the 25 games and had a 10-6-1 record. Perna ranked second in the conference with a .935 save percentage and second in goals against average with a 2.07. He recorded 507 total saves while earning one shutout.
During the regular season, the Colonels recorded a win and two losses against the Mustangs, with one loss coming in overtime at home along with the win.
Stevenson also went 16-7-2 overall in the regular season and were 13-6-2 in conference play. The Mustangs increased to 17-7-2 overall following their 2-1 overtime victory over Neumann in the MAC semifinals.
The Mustangs outscored their opponents by a 68-88 margin and were strong in shots on goal, averaging 39.12 per game. Stevenson killed off penalties at a .790 percent rate (64-for-81) and won faceoffs .537 percent of the time.
Liam McCanney led the Mustangs in points this season with 27 and Dylan Florit leads the team in assists with 14. Blake Benson led the team in goals and is first in the conference with 17. Nick Dineen had the team high in plus minus, with a plus 10 player rating.
Benson leads the team in power play goals and is fourth in the conference with five and is first in the conference in shots with 124. McCanney leads the team and is second in the conference in short handed goals with four while Florit had the team high in faceoff wins with 319.
Goaltender Ford DeLoss went 15-5-2 this season, making 23 appearances over 26 games. He is fourth in the conference in goals against average with a 2.30 average and is averaging 22.9 saves per game on the season.
The winner of this matchup will advance to the NCAA tournament, with selections being released on Sunday, March 9th.
