Junior right-winger Anthony Jorgenson’s impact on the third line and the penalty killing unit doesn’t often translate to the scoresheet, but his five goals—three in the second period alone—on Saturday night (Jan. 6) propelled the University of Delaware Blue Hens (14-9-0) Division 2 men’s hockey team to an 11-3 win over the Stevenson Mustangs (1-6-1) at Gold Arena in Newark, Del.
The Fort Worth-area native opened the scoring for the Hens in the third minute, establishing position in a congested low slot to redirect a Shane Moran attempt past Mustangs goalie Will Langstaff. Both teams traded goals late in a back-and-forth first period, with Stevenson’s Mark Bowen tying the game at 13:08 with a slap shot power-play goal from the high slot before the Hens’ second-leading goal scorer Ryan Morse batted in a rebound at 14:39 off an initial shot from defenceman Tyler Perry at the left dot.
Jorgenson wasn’t limited to crashing the net to capitalise on rebounds; he proved a capable sniper on multiple occasions as well. His first two goals in the second period came from mid-zone or higher. At the 3:42 mark in the middle frame, Jorgenson connected top-shelf from the mid-slot, only to follow it up with a short-handed goal at 9:26 from the right half wall. His third of the period and fourth of the game was a redirect of a Stephen Bryson shot from in front of the Stevenson net at 15:52.
Jorgenson, however, may well have saved his best for last.
With the Hens up 5-3 through two periods and 2:36 elapsed in the third, Jorgenson intercepted a Stevenson outlet pass from his own blue line, carried the puck across neutral ice, and roofed a hard wrist shot from the high slot. Jorgenson’s fifth goal of the game would unleash a flurry of chances in the final frame, as the Hens accounted for six unanswered goals on 23 total third-period shots. Fourth-line centre Georgios Kostes accounted for a late pair, while Jeremy deWit, Justin Grossman, and Shane Moran also found the back of the net.
The Mustangs, not lacking for talent by any means, were sorely outmatched in manpower being only able to field eight skaters. To that end, they kept pace well through the first two periods, with Bowen notching two power-play goals and Kyle Buchanan finding the back of the cage as well. Defenceman Brandon Scholze lended great support to Langstaff through the first two periods before long shifts finally took their toll on the Stevenson side.
Delaware outshot Stevenson, 62-15. Langstaff recorded 51 saves in defeat, while the Hens’ Stephen Odgers improved to 5-3-0 on the season with a 12-save effort.
The Hens were 2-for-7 on the power play with a pair of short-handed goals, while Stevenson was 2-for-5 with a man advantage. In a fast-paced, back-and-forth, chippy game that could have boiled over on any number of occasions, both teams combined for 38 penalty minutes.
The Hens depart for North Carolina on Friday (Jan. 12), beginning a five-game road trip with a matchup against North Carolina State in Raleigh.
