Newark, Del. — Eight different University of Delaware players scored goals and 14 skaters registered points in the Division 2 Blue Hens’ (10-8-1) 8-0 rout of Georgetown (3-7-0) on Friday night (Jan. 10) at Fred Rust Arena.
Much of the Blue Hens’ offensive firepower originated at the blue line, with defencemen Nick Petrus and Eddie Martorella both scoring goals, Andrew Marciniak contributing three assists, and Mike Nauman adding an assist as well. Likewise, the fourth line contributed significantly, with Larry Hooper, Will Jowett and Evan Cassady notching a goal apiece.
After a sluggish first 10 minutes, the Hens struck on their first power play of the night. Just eight seconds after Hoyas defenceman Zach Shpilner was ruled off for tripping at 11:09, Hooper potted the rebound of a Marciniak shot to establish Delaware’s lead. Ryan Johnson then connected with a hard wrist shot from the top of the left circle 35 seconds later, firing the puck over Georgetown goalie Ty Greenburg’s left shoulder. With 1:45 left in the first period, Jowett lifted the Hens to a 3-0 lead, connecting on a backdoor pass from Cassady.
Goals by Kyle Sapia and Petrus extended Delaware’s advantage to 5-0 just four minutes into the second period, but they failed to pad their lead further despite three man-advantage opportunities through the remainder of the frame. At 7:10 into the third, Martorella notched his sixth seasonal goal with a wrist shot from inside the right dot.
With 5:32 remaining and the Hens leading comfortably, Cassady scored his first collegiate goal with considerable flair. After receiving a headman pass from Hooper to set up a one-on-one attack, the freshman deked past Georgetown defender Dan Herdiech to enable a clear path to the net. At the top of the crease, he lifted the puck off his backhand for a bar-down goal. Co-leading scorer Devin LeBlanc added the eighth Blue Hen goal with 1:33 to go, finishing a two-on-one attack with a 20-foot wrist shot.
In all, Delaware peppered Greenburg with 34 shots on goal. Stephen Odgers improved to 9-7-0 in net for Delaware with a 21-save shutout.
Delaware returns to action on Saturday (Jan. 11), hosting Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey rival Stevenson. Full coverage on Delaware Hockey Night TV and Delaware Hockey Night Radio begins at 5:15 p.m.
