Newark, Del. – After the University of Delaware Division 2 men’s hockey team (5-1-0) battled back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the second period, the Virginia Tech Hokies (2-2-0) found a second wind in the third, adding two more goals to defeat the Blue Hens, 4-2, on Saturday (Sept. 29) at Fred Rust Arena.
After a strong Virginia Tech forecheck led to a David Dachille goal 4:43 into the first period — he stole the puck in the Delaware zone before firing from mid-slot to beat Blue Hens goalie Stephen Odgers – a frustrated Delaware side quickly found themselves in penalty trouble. Roughing minors from Ryan Morse and Dylan Knox in the tenth minute resulted in an extended 5-on-3 advantage for the Hokies, but a solid penalty-killing unit anchored by Andrew Marciniak and Dan Demas kept Virginia Tech scoreless through that span. The Hokies contributed a second goal with 4:22 remaining in the opening frame, when a Wei Wu shot was stopped by Odgers, but trickled across the goal line after being initially deflected into the air.
Delaware bounced back to tie the game in the second period, when Ryan Morse used an established net-front presence to direct a pair of back-door feeds — the equaliser coming on a power play — from Steve Bryson to beat Hokies goalie Christian Ciraco.
Mario Pieroni earned the go-ahead goal for Virginia Tech 4:33 into the third period, fielding a headman pass from Mason Wildgrube at the Delaware blue line before splitting defenders and lifting the puck over Odgers’s glove. The Hokies extended their lead to 4-2 when Clay Potochny recorded an unassisted power-play goal from the left dot at 6:17.
Despite recording 12 shots in the third frame, the Blue Hens were held scoreless, largely due to Ciraco liberally freezing the puck and minimising second-chance opportunities. He improved to 2-1-0 while recording 35 saves, while Odgers made 32 saves in defeat.
The Blue Hens return to action on Friday night (Oct. 5), hosting Rutgers at Fred Rust Arena.
Virginia Tech 4, Delaware 2
Sat., Sept. 29, 2018 – at Fred Rust Arena, Newark, Del.
Virginia Tech – 2 0 2 – 4
Delaware – 0 2 0 – 2
First Period: Virginia Tech, Dachille 2, 4:43. Virginia Tech, Wu 3 (Morrison, Link), 15:38. Penalties: Hoey, VT (charging), 1:45. Morse, UD (roughing), 9:08. Knox, UD (roughing), 9:14. Leather, UD (cross-checking), 11:30. Wildgrube, VT (unsportsmanlike conduct), 11:30. Bryson, UD (slashing) 16:38. Simonian, VT (slashing), 16:38.
Second Period: Delaware, Morse 8 (Bryson), 8:37. Delaware, Morse 9 (Bryson)(PP), 16:44. Penalties: Swift, UD (roughing), 1:58. Wildgrube, VT (tripping), 3:26. bench minor, UD (too many men on the ice), 4:20. Calandra, VT (slashing), 6:00. Wildgrube, VT (elbowing), 11:28. Link, VT (tripping), 16:03. Moran, UD (interference), 17:19.
Third Period: Virginia Tech, Pieroni 1 (Wildgrube, Gerke), 4:33. Virginia Tech, Potochny 1 (PP), 6:17. Penalties: Moran, UD (roughing), 5:07. Simonian, VT (slashing), 7:46. Knox, UD (roughing), 15:14. Morrison, VT (holding), 15:14. DeWit, UD (cross-checking, misconduct), 18:24. Demas D., UD (cross-checking), 19:10. LeBlanc, UD (game misconduct), 19:10.
Shots on Goal: Virginia Tech 36, Delaware 37.
Penalty Minutes: Virginia Tech 18, Delaware 42.
Power-play Opportunities: Virginia Tech 1 of 8, Delaware 1 of 6.
Goalies: Virginia Tech, Circaco 2-1-0 (37 shots, 35 saves). Delaware, Odgers 1-1-0 (36 shots, 32 saves).
Referees: Rob Navickas, Brian McCullough. Linesmen: Joe Tagle, Owen Doane.
