Hamilton, N.J. — The third-seeded Rowan Profs continued their dream season under first-year head coach Dan DiMonte on Friday (Feb. 14), earning a 4-1 victory over a tough Stevenson team in MACH Conference Tournament quarterfinal play on Friday (Feb. 14) at Ice Land.
The Profs and Mustangs came out evenly to start the contest. Near the midway point of the first period, Rowan began to threaten. Stevenson netminder Pierce Dushenko skated way out of his net to play the puck in the corner, only for it to be knocked down and taken away by Rowan forward Nick Ramos. Ramos fired a shot from the half wall into the vacated net for a 1-0 lead. Rowan doubled their lead with 12 seconds remaining in the period thanks to Alex Ahern. The big turning point of the game was midway into the second period. Rowan was called for a boarding major, giving Stevenson the chance to gain momentum. Not long into the man advantage, Stevenson took a step back and took a penalty, making it four on four hockey. Rowan pounced and extended their lead to 3-0, as Bobby Penrod beautifully set Trevor Rucci up for his first postseason goal.
Stevenson finally got on the board with a power play goal by Brian Hodges — a laser from the point — in the third, but that was as close as they would get. The final blow came from Rowan Senior Frank Christy, who sealed a 4-1 victory in net for the Profs. Kyle Rink was outstanding in net for Rowan in the victory, recording 28 saves.Rowan takes on Penn State in Saturday’s (Feb. 15) semifinal; full coverage will be available on Delaware Hockey Night.
