NEWS

The University of Rhode Island men’s club hockey team swept Temple University at home over the weekend, regaining momentum to move to 10-4 on the year.

An intense and physical battle took place on Friday, with the two teams committing 10 penalties. In the final period, URI first-year defenseman Reilly Gilligan sealed the deal to make game one a 6-0 win for Rhody.

While game one was a strong win for Rhody, game two provided even more offensive fireworks. From the start, the Rhody offense had plays lined up and ready to go. After settling in on offense, Rhody opened up the scoring early, as URI second-year forward Cam Cyr scored just 12 minutes in. With 52.3 seconds left in the period, Cyr scored again to give the Rams a 2-0 lead to close out the first period.

To start the second period, Rhody was scoreless during the first 11 minutes, as Temple put up a tough fight. However, URI first-year goalie James Hunt was dialed in, providing save after save for the Rams to keep Temple off the scoreboard.

“It’s fun, obviously,” Hunt said. “You know, it’s a team game, though. Like, when you’re putting up back-to-back shutouts like that, too. We’re all working together as a unit this weekend. Goalies were playing well, and we played well defensively as well, so that helps out.”

At 9:18 in the second period, URI second-year forward Owen Hall scored, giving the Rams a 3-0 lead. Seconds later, Rhody third-year forward Max Lockwood scored to give Rhody a 4-0 lead with 8:20 left.

The third period was all Rams. First-year forward Justin Bonfiglio scored with 11:26 left. One minute later, Rhody scored again. URI’s dominant defense began to frustrate Temple as both teams committed penalties within the final 10 minutes of the game.

“The turning point was those major penalties, you know, where you get a couple goals, but there’s things you have to clean up,” URI Head Coach Joe Augustine said. “Tighten up on what we worked on last week: angling, forecheck and our penalty kill.”

After a few penalties, Cyr scored again, giving Rhody a 6-0 lead with 8:37 left in the period. Following another Rhody score, Lockwood closed out the game by scoring back-to-back goals to make the score 9-0.

The 9-0 win on Saturday capped off a series dominated by Rhody, as they outscored Temple 15-0 across the two games.

Prior to getting swept by Stony Brook University on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, the Rams were 8-2 on the season and had won six of their last seven games, so the series with Temple was crucial for the Rams to return to their winning form.

“It hurts when you lose at home, especially two in a row, especially against a team like Stony Brook,” Hunt said. “I thought the guys worked hard today, especially that third period to close it out.”

The series with Temple was the third and fourth games during a six-game homestand for Rhody. The team enjoyed having home-ice advantage, according to Hunt.

“To be here in your locker room in front of these fans, and two good showings this weekend, and it’s great when you can put some wins up, put some goals on the scoreboard and perform in front of them,” Hunt said. “Obviously super fun, super excited we get to do that.”

While this weekend was a success for Rhody, the team looks to stay focused heading into next week.

“We’ll focus on some of the good stuff we’ve done,” Augustine said. “We’ll also fix the stuff that’s broken. You try to project where we’re going to be at a certain time of the season.”

Next, the Rams will continue their homestand to take on George Mason University for another two-game series on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.