Newark, Del. — Following Friday’s heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Liberty, the University of Delaware Division 1 men’s hockey team (1-3-0) came up one goal short yet again on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 6), as the visiting Liberty Flames posted a 3-2 win to sweep the two-game set with the Blue Hens at Fred Rust Arena.
Down 2-0 through one period, Delaware battled back to a 2-2 deadlock on the shoulders of leading scorer Chris Mazzella. The lone goal scorer in Friday’s defeat, Mazzella put the Blue Hens on the board with 5:33 to go in the second period, finishing a Jake DeFares assist for a power-play goal on the sixth such opportunity.
After Delaware successfully killed off a Kevin Felice boarding minor, Mazzella and DeFares again teamed up 4:58 into the third period. Mazzella, earning his third goal of the series and seventh of the season, was also assisted by Mike Nisky in the game-tying tally.
Despite Mazzella’s heroics to put the Hens back in contention, Liberty’s Josh Hamilton — who scored in the first period along with Cole Gammer — beat Chris Ponticello on a fast-break two-on-two with 10:03 left in regulation.
Cole Burack was victorious again for the Flames between the pipes, saving 29 of 31 shots faced. Chris Ponticello, pulled with 50 seconds to go in exchange for an extra attacker, took the loss in net for Delaware, recording 25 saves on 28 shots.
After taking next weekend off, Delaware travels to Annapolis, Md. on Oct. 19 to take on the United States Naval Academy in the first half of a weekend home-and-home series.
