Put Your Money on Blue! Pirates Defeat Stockton 5-4
Seton Hall Hockey is showing no signs of slowing down.
The Pirates traveled to Atlantic City on Friday to take on the Stockton Ospreys in what would be an intense back-and-forth affair. Missing key players such as Jimmy Griffin (illness), Mike Volpi, and Mike Mascolo (travel game conflicts), and losing Nick Serapiglia and John Anselmo to injuries mid-game, Seton Hall knew that their depth would be put to the test. Fortunately, they passed with flying colors.
The Pirates came out flying in the first ten minutes of the game, pushing the Ospreys back and forcing them to take three penalties in a span of 2 minutes. The Pirates capitalized on two of those three powerplays, thanks to goals from freshman John Anselmo and sophomore Cam Adamec. Those two goals, along with an even-strength goal from defensive captain Cam Toussaint, gave the Pirates a 3-0 lead. The Ospreys would battle back, capitalizing on a 2-on-1 opportunity that would beat John McCarthy glove side. The goal against was McCarthy's first of the season, capping his incredible shutout streak at 137:56. Nevertheless, the Pirates returned to the locker room up 3-1.
After the Ospreys cut the lead to one early in the second, the Pirates answered back with another goal from Cam Toussaint, his second of the game. Just 5 minutes later, however, Stockton would find the back of the net after a strange bounce in front, making the score after two periods 4-3 in favor of the Pirates.
Just when the obnoxiously loud home crowd thought their team was in it, captain Thomas Healy was there to silence them, putting home a one-timer off of a gorgeous pass from alternate captain Nick Mangano. Although Stockton would fight back to within a goal once more, it was John McCarthy and the Pirates who had the last laugh, standing tall and defeating the Ospreys 5-4. McCarthy finished the game with 42 saves and extended his win streak to 3 games.
With yet another win over a Liberty division opponent, the Pirates improve their out-of-division record to 2-0 and their overall conference record to 4-0. The Pirates have still never trailed in a game this season. On top of that, the only time the Pirates have been tied with an opponent is when the score was 0-0. Once the Pirates take the lead, they do not look back. The Pirates will look to continue their winning ways at the RWJ Barnabas Health Hockey House, where they will take on the NJIT Highlanders next Sunday night.
