Newark, Del. — The Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Conference North Division postseason table begins with two familiar foes in Rowan (13-9-2, 4-7-0 MACH) and Rider (19-4-2, 6-4-1 MACH) squaring off on Friday (Feb. 15) for the right to play top-seeded Penn State in Saturday’s (Feb. 16) North Division final.
Game time from the University of Delaware’s Gold Arena is 2:30 p.m. Eastern. The Rowan Television Network will provide video coverage of the contest, with Profs’ play-by-play commentator Lenny Schnee describing the action as it unfolds.
The Broncs swept the Profs in a December home-and-home series in the Garden State, but only prevailed by one goal in each meeting.
A natural hat trick from Justin Tiso in the first period gave Rider an early spark in their 6-5 win over Rowan on Dec. 7 at the Loucks Ice Center in Lawrenceville, N.J. Both Chris Johnson and Michael Dalfarra accounted for two assists each, and Angelo Perri saved 25 of 30 shots faced in victory.
The next night (Dec. 8), at Hollydell Arena in Sewell, N.J., Rider eked out a 4-3 win after a back-and-forth first two periods. Second-line forward Cole Moskal finished from a Vinny Arlotta assist with 9:30 remaining in regulation to sever a 3-3 deadlock. Moskal was one of two skaters to score twice in the contest, with Rowan’s Ryan Conlin also registering two goals. Perri again proved victorious between the pipes for Rider with a 26-save effort.
Players to Watch: The Broncs’ top line proved consistently potent, with Justin Tiso (29-21—50), Chris Johnson (15-27—42) and Jake Lukis (7-23–30) accounting for 36% of Rider’s offence this season. Four other Broncs skaters have cracked double digits in goals: Cole Moskal, Mike Dalfarra, Mike Klein and John Martino. Defenceman Nick Leelum is a major contributor to Rider’s fast-break attack, and has added 16 assists of his own. For the Profs, Ryan Conlin has shouldered much of the goal-scoring load, averaging just over two points a game with 34 goals and 16 assists. Sam Ahern and Chris Conlin have added 12 and 11 goals, respectively. Goalie Kyle Rink, who compiled a 9-6-1 record as the Profs’ primary netminder, sports a 2.92 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
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