REISTERSTOWN, Md. - Stevenson Men's Hockey returned to MAC action this evening on home ice against (RV) Neumann University. The Mustangs enjoyed a productive night offensively, scoring three goals in each of the first and third periods to come away with a 6-1 victory.
The Mustangs wasted little time setting the tone for the game as junior Caden Smith found the back of the net for the fourth time this season just over one minute into the game. Smith was assisted by classmate Blake Benson.
Several shifts later, Smith was back on the scoresheet after assisting classmate John Musella on his second goal of the year, adding sophomore Jack Meloff to the assist effort. The assist was Smith's second of the year while Meloff's was his fourth.
Before the period expired, Benson scored on the Mustang power-play to extend the lead to three. Assisting Benson was junior Aidan McDowell, who now totals three points on the season.
The second period went scoreless despite Neumann applying more offensive pressure. After steering all four Knight shot attempts aside in the first period, junior netminder Ford DeLoss came up big to stop all 16 shots in the second period.
Stevenson regained offensive momentum in the third, scoring two goals within a minute of each other at the halfway point. The first was scored again by Benson for his seventh of the season, and assisting him in the effort was senior Evan Beers for his sixth on the year.
Following Benson was rookie Aidan O'Connell as he secured his first collegiate goal thanks to a setup by senior Jake Roberts and sophomore Matt Yeager. O'Connell's goal accounts for his second point of the year while Roberts' and Yeager's are their second and third, respectively.
Though Neumann would capitalize on a power-play opportunity soon after, the Mustangs had the last word thanks to senior Liam McCanney, who leads the team with nine goals this season. Classmate Dylan Florit and junior Jack Karlsson picked up their eighth and seventh assists on the season in the process.
The win puts the Mustangs at 7-5-1 overall and 4-4-1 in conference. They look to earn the weekend sweep tomorrow with their 3 p.m. matchup against the Knights at the Reisterstown Sportsplex.
