REISTERSTOWN, Md. - Stevenson Men's Hockey earned the second seed in the first ever Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship tournament and hosted third-seeded Neumann University this afternoon. Regulation finished in a 1-1 tie, but sophomore Matt Yeager would prove to be the hero and send the Mustangs to the championship game.
The first period saw 26 total shots, 16 of which came from Stevenson. With just under one minute remaining, junior Blake Benson blew past the Neumann defense to find the back of the net, giving Stevenson the 1-0 lead heading into the second.
Benson's conference-leading 17th goal of the season was assisted by classmate John Musella, accounting for his fifth of the year.
Neither team scored in the second, but the shots were skewed in Stevenson's favor once again, 14-8.
Just two minutes into the third period, Neumann would gain a breakaway opportunity on their power-play, capitalizing to tie the game at one. The third period saw an even 11 shots from both teams, but both goaltenders battled to keep the game alive.
In the 20-minute, 5-on-5 overtime period, Stevenson led once more with six shots while junior netminder Ford DeLoss denied all three Neumann attempts.
Just seven minutes in, sophomore Matt Yeager took a wide angle to fire a shot past Neumann's Cole DeFazio and end the game. Yeager's game-winner was his third goal of the year, and earning an assist on the play was senior Graeme McCrory for his ninth of the season.
DeLoss finished the game with 31 total saves, making ten in each of the first and third periods.
At the other end, Benson led the Mustangs with ten shots, followed by junior Caden Smith with seven and Musella with five.
In the circle, senior Dylan Florit won 11 draws with McCrory and first year Aiden Lindley contributing nine and eight face-off wins, respectively.
The win was the Mustangs' 17th on the year and keeps their 2025 campaign going. They will face the winner of No. 1 Wilkes and No. 4 Alvernia next Saturday, March 8th at a location and time yet to be determined.
