Laurel, Md. — A strong and fast offensive-zone presence buoyed by two goals from Shane Moran and backstopped a 39-save shutout in net from Chris Demas led the University of Delaware Division 2 men’s hockey team (11-1-0, 2-0-0 MACH) over Maryland (3-4-0), 6-0, on Friday night (Oct. 27) at The Gardens Ice House.
After Maryland goalie Adam Childs stopped the first 12 shots he faced in a 17-shot first period, Delaware’s leading scorer Ryan Morse, now with 14 goals on the year, split defenders just inside the Terrapins’ blue line to field an Alec Rankin stretch pass and finish with a top-shelf wrist shot from the low slot at 11:16. Six minutes later, Moran followed with his first goal, stealing the puck in the neutral zone before carrying it in and backhanding it under Childs’s stick from the edge of the crease.
Morse nearly added a third Delaware goal late in the first period, but lost his footing near the Terrapins goal after fielding a long breakout pass from Dan Demas that stretched from behind the Delaware net.
The Hens went up 3-0 early in the second, though, as Moran accounted for his second goal of the night and seventh of the season with a mid-slot rebound from a Devin LeBlanc chance 2:10 in.
While the Delaware top six provided the early spark, the offensive productivity continued down to the third line while Maryland was out-hustled and out-battled in all three zones. Just past the midway point of the second period, Jeremy DeWit split defenders at the Maryland blue line to manufacture a breakaway, maintained control of the puck despite being slashed and hooked by Matt Cremen all the way toward the goal, and still beat Childs to lift Delaware to a 4-0 advantage. DeWit then set up Mike Leather for a net-front one-timer with 5:14 left in a 20-shot second period for Delaware.
After outshooting Maryland 37-25 through two periods and limiting the Terps to shots from the perimeter, the Blue Hens only managed seven shots in the third period — one of them giving LeBlanc his 10th seasonal goal at 8:19 when he crashed the net to put back the rebound of a Moran shot. Aside from allowing the LeBlanc goal, Maryland maintained an attacking presence for the majority of the third period, outshooting the Hens 14-7 but running into a strong backcheck and sharp goaltending from Chris Demas, who improved to 4-0-0 with the shutout. Maryland’s Nate Hefner posed a last-minute threat to the Demas shutout, but failed to convert on a 2-on-1 attack before a dustup between Hefner and Delaware defenceman Dan Demas resulted in both players being assessed 10-minute misconducts.
Neither side converted on the power play: Delaware with one opportunity to Maryland’s three.
Childs (1-2-0) registered 38 saves on 44 total shots faced in defeat.
The Blue Hens kick off a four-game homestand on Friday (Nov. 2), hosting UMass at Fred Rust Arena. Game time is scheduled for 9 p.m. and Delaware Hockey Night Radio will provide live coverage.
Note: Delaware’s 2-1 loss to Ohio on Friday, Oct. 19 was reversed; the Blue Hens were awarded a forfeit win.
