Newark, Del. — A gangbusters start, end-to-end domination to the finish, and three players with two goals each propelled the University of Delaware Division 2 men’s hockey team (3-0-0) to a commanding 10-2 win over The College of New Jersey (1-1-0) on Friday (Sept. 21) at Fred Rust Arena.
Steve Bryson sparked a first-period flurry of offence just 88 seconds in with a net-front redirect, leading to three more goals — from Matt Maselli, Shane Moran and John Ryan — in the first two-thirds of the first period.
“That’s what upper-echelon good teams do,” said coach Vince Falkowski. “They come out, get an early lead, keep it, and just stomp on the other team and don’t let them back in the game.”
Down 4-1 to the Blue Hens with 6:30 remaining in the first, New Jersey pulled starting goalie Mike Lojewski in favour of Patrick Tso, who backstopped the Lions to a 3-1 win over Princeton in their season opener.
The Blue Hens turned up the heat more in earnest in the second period, pelting Tso with 24 further shots. While Tso delivered some remarkable saves, including a spectacular glove save to deny a Ryan breakaway in the sixth minute, The Hens extended their lead to 7-1 in the middle period by way of close-range goals from Devin LeBlanc, Ryan Morse, and Ryan Johnson.
Delaware added a trio of goals in the third, with Moran, Johnson and Morse all earning their respective second goals of the game. JP Kelly and Matt Lojewski were the lone scorers for New Jersey.
“When we played them last year, it was 4-3, close game,” Falkowski continued. “They travel well, they play hard, and they never give up. I didn’t want our guys to let down.”
In all, Delaware accounted for 53 shots on goal. New Jersey recorded 26 shots on goal, 24 of which were saved by Blue Hens netminder Chris Demas (1-0-0).
To illustrate the depth of the Delaware lineup, 12 players earned at least one point, with Andrew Marciniak, Alec Rankin and Dylan Knox registering three assists apiece and Bryson accounting for two assists in addition to his early goal.
Delaware travels to Newburgh, N.Y. on Sunday (Sept. 23) to take on Army.
Delaware 10, New Jersey 2
Fri., Sept. 21, 2018 – at Fred Rust Arena, Newark, Del.
New Jersey – 1 0 1 – 2
Delaware – 4 3 3 – 10
First Period: Delaware, Bryson 1 (Morse, Rankin), 1:28. Delaware, Maselli 1 (Nauman, Knox), 8:02. Delaware, Moran 2 (LeBlanc), 10:17. New Jersey, Kelly 1 (Dimock, Coyle), 12:05. Delaware, Ryan 1 (Knox, Marciniak), 13:30. Penalties: Beni, NJ (tripping), 4:17.
Second Period: Delaware, LeBlanc 2 (Petrus, Moran), 8:30. Delaware, Morse 4 (Bryson, Rankin), 10:48. Delaware, Johnson 2 (LeBlanc, Petrus), 19:09. Penalties: Marciniak, UD (tripping), 5:58. Lowe, UD (interference), 12:04. Lem, NJ (holding), 15:23.
Third Period: Delaware, Moran 3 (Knox, Marciniak), :20. New Jersey, Lojewski Ma. 1 (Kelly, Lem), 3:00. Delaware, Johnson 3 (Ryan, Marciniak), 12:39. Delaware, Morse 5 (Bryson, Rankin), 19:49. Penalties: Lojewski Ma., NJ (slashing), 10:30. Nauman, UD (interference), 15:09.
Shots On Goal: New Jersey 26, Delaware 53.
Penalty Minutes: New Jersey 6, Delaware 6.
Power-play Opportunities: New Jersey 0 of 3, Delaware 0 of 3.
Goalies: New Jersey, Lojewski Mi. 0-1-0 (13:30, 14 shots, 10 saves), Tso (46:30, 39 shots, 33 saves). Delaware, Demas C. 1-0-0 (26 shots, 24 saves).
Referees: Tim Foreman, Doug Wood. Linesmen: Brian Valentine, John Casey.
