After clinching the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) championship title, the Stevenson University men’s ice hockey team will end their second regular season on Feb. 16.
The Mustangs lost a game to Utica College on Feb. 9 with a score of 6-4, but the next day they beat Nazareth College ending their senior day game with a score of 3-2.
Included in the victory over Nazareth, senior Mike Davis earned his fifth career winning goal and was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time. Senior Doug Rose contributed with two assists while classmate Jordan Watt added a blocked shot. Senior Jacob Caffrey recorded a total of 38 saves regardless of the Mustangs being outshot 40-34.
“Everybody on the team has somebody that made it possible to play hockey, and that’s exactly what the night was about. I think that everyone was really fired up coming into the game,” noted Caffrey.
While the upperclassmen had a successful senior day, underclassmen also contributed to the outcome of the Nazareth game. Freshmen Aaron Murray and Carl Lyden assisted in the first and last goals of the game. During the first period, goals were scored by Davis and sophomore Dominic Brenza. The Mustangs did not score in the second or third periods while Nazareth tied the game by scoring two goals. During overtime, Davis scored the third and final goal resulting in a spot in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) playoffs.
Head coach Dominick Dawes said, “We set three goals this year: Win the MAC, finish in the top two for UCHC’s and then win the UCHC tournament.” Four games, the first of which being against Neumann University, stand between the Mustangs and their season goals.
Having coached the Neumann ice hockey team for seven seasons, Dawes added, “Neumann is a natural rivalry for us,” especially considering three of the current seniors originally played for the Knights.
“As a senior, having a title under our belt is an awesome feeling and it would make the ending even better with a league championship,” said Rose.
The away game against Neumann will be on Feb. 16 at 7 p.m. providing the Mustangs with an opportunity to move forward in the UCHC tournament.
