REISTERSTOWN, Md. – The Stevenson men's ice hockey team defeated Chatham 6-3 in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) quarterfinals Wednesday night at the Reisterstown Sportsplex. With the victory, Stevenson (15-9-2) advances to the UCHC semifinals for the third time in the past four seasons.
The Mustangs sprinted out of the gates, depositing three first period goals while Chatham (14-9-3) mustered only four shots in the period.
Seth Bergeron netted the game's first goal on Stevenson's third shot of the game at the 5:24 mark with assists from
Anthony Starzi and
John Musella.
Zach Egber moved the Stevenson lead to 2-0 with a goal at 14:33, assisted by
Graeme McCrory.
Evan Beers rounded out the first period scoring with a tally at 17:54, assisted by
Graeme McCrory and
Eric Olson.
The game's first penalty put Stevenson on the power-play with 28 seconds remaining in the opening period and carried over to the second. Just 19 seconds into the middle frame the Mustangs capitalized on the man-up situation with an unassisted goal from
Eric Olson.
Chatham earned a power play almost two minutes later but only managed two shots in the effort and were unable to break into the score column. Stevenson extended its lead to 5-0 with a second power play goal, this time with a 5-on-3 advantage scored by
Frank Vitucci at 13:55.
Austin Master and
Brendan Rylott added assists on the goal.
Ryan Kenny added another eight saves in the period to hold the Cougars scoreless through two periods.
The Cougars came alive in the third period, outshooting the Mustangs 7-25 with nine in the first three minutes of the frame. The effort paid off as the Cougars netted a goal at 2:54 to break their scoring drought. Just 16 seconds later, the Cougars found the back of the net again to cut the Mustang lead to 5-2. Chatham took advantage of its fourth power play opportunity of the game, depositing a goal at 9:14 and moving the Stevenson lead to 5-3.
The Cougars continued their offensive push, ripping nine more shots on goal over the next six minutes. They maximized their offensive effort with an empty net, but
Liam McCanney was able to send the puck through the open goal at 18:46 to seal the victory.
Numbers and Notes
- Stevenson advances to the UCHC Semifinals for the third time in four seasons.
- The Mustangs received goals from six different skaters.
- Graeme McCrory added two assists for the first time this season and third multi-point game of the year.
- Eric Olson added a goal and an assist for his second two-point performance of the year.
- Liam McCanney added his 22nd goal of the season and has recorded a point in nine consecutive games.
- Austin Master dished out two assists and has recorded a point in nine-straight appearances.
- Ryan Kenny tallied 34 saves to record his 13th victory of the season.
What's Next
- The Mustangs will face Nazareth in the UCHC Semifinal in Rochester, N.Y. on Saturday, February 25. A game time has not been determined.
