NEWS

The University of Rhode Island men’s club hockey team hosted a two-game rivalry series against Stony Brook University over the weekend, dropping both contests and falling to 8-4 on the year.

Emotions ran high throughout the series, with both teams battling for momentum. Despite showing plenty of energy and offensive firepower in Friday’s 7-5 loss, the Rams couldn’t carry that same spark into Saturday’s matchup, where missed opportunities led to a 5-2 defeat.

“We’ve been getting away with little things that you can’t get away with against really good teams, and I think that showed this weekend,” URI Head Coach Joe Augustine said. “In the first game, we scored five goals but gave up seven, and in game two, there was no flow to the game.”

The Rams struggled to maintain consistency across both matchups, showing flashes of high-level play with seven combined goals in the series but failing to sustain it long enough to overcome their defensive mistakes. The losses were especially disappointing given the intensity of the rivalry, which always carries extra meaning for the players and fans, according to Augustine.

A positive for the Rams was first-year forward Charlie Nelson continuing his breakout campaign, as he added his 19th point of the season in Saturday’s contest with an early goal to open the scoring for Rhode Island.

“It’s nice to get the team fired up and ready to go, but at the end of the day we didn’t win, so it doesn’t really matter that much,” Nelson said.

Nelson has made an immediate impact for the Rams, recording six goals and 13 assists on the year. This strong play has earned him the second-most points on the team and a prominent role in the Rams’ rotation.

“Obviously individual success is nice, but ultimately I care about the team more than I care about myself,” Nelson said. “Winning a championship is more meaningful than getting a lot of points.”

That mindset reflects the broader feeling inside the locker room as the Rams continue to focus on growth, accountability and team chemistry heading into the heart of the season, according to Nelson.

“We have to build better friendships in the locker room,” Nelson said. “Stuff like that off the ice really helps.”

Augustine has also been impressed with Nelson’s maturity and early impact.

“Charlie’s a good player and a good skater — that’s his main strength, and it just makes everything better for his game,” Augustine said. “He’s been a really pleasant surprise.”

After a frustrating weekend, Rhode Island will seek to learn from its mistakes and bounce back in its upcoming series against Temple University.

“We’ll watch film and get over the mistakes we made this weekend,” Augustine said. “We’ll try to work on all the aspects we did wrong, which was plenty, and take it as a learning tool to move on.”

The URI men’s club hockey team will host Temple at Boss Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday as they look to regain their early-season momentum.