It was a big weekend for Rowan men’s hockey as both teams played back-to-back games.
The Division II squad headed out to play Division I Villanova University on Friday, Oct. 21, and hosted the University of Delaware on Saturday, Oct. 22. Meanwhile, the Division III squad headed south to take on nationally ranked Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) in a two-game series. Both teams finished out the week going 1-1.
DII Team: Villanova Matchup
To start off the weekend, the Profs took to the road and headed towards Villanova. While Villanova is not a matchup that goes towards the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) record for the Profs, it is still a game they wanted to use to build momentum.
Similar to how the Profs started their game against the Penn State Ice Lions earlier in the season, the Profs got on the board first. But after that, Rowan received a five minute penalty and had to go on the penalty kill. The Profs gave up two goals on the penalty kill within a minute and half of each other.
The second period wasn’t much different, as the Profs were outshot and outplayed in every facet of the game. The Profs gave up three more goals in the second period, and that was it for scoring for both teams, as Villanova was easily able to cruise to a 5-1 victory.
DII Team: Delaware Matchup
The Profs had the chance to bounce back against an American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) opponent in Delaware and to earn one for the win column.
Delaware went into this match up 0-5-0 while the Profs are 3-2-1. The Profs could have lost this “trap game” because of how hungry, frustrated and winless this Delaware team was, but luckily for the Profs, they avoided that fate and sealed the weekend with a 3-2 victory.
Despite coming off a loss, Rowan generated a massive amount of offense and scoring. One line in particular has been on fire since being put together by Head Coach Dan DiMonte.
“The Line of [Tanner] Schroder, [Cam] Chandler and [Mike] Frattaroli have been on fire since putting them together in the RPI game,” Coach DiMonte said. “They have superior command of the puck in the offensive zone and have kept the other teams on their toes when they’re on the ice.”
Delaware struck first towards the end of the first period. Once the Profs got going, they went hard, scoring two goals in the second with the first goal from Ryan Scott and second from Chase Dyer.
Delaware tied the game extremely early in the third period, and it remained so until about the 20th minute of the final stretch where Mike Frattaroli netted the game winning Goal.
“Great to have Mikey Fratt [Frattaroli] get the game winner,” Coach DiMonte said. “He has had a long awaited breakout and I think we are finally starting to see it play out.”
DIII Team: Florida Gulf Coast Matchups
While DII stayed up north, the DIII squad went the opposite direction to Florida. Before their two-game series against Florida Gulf Coast, Coach DiMonte said these were going to be the breakout games for goalie Matt Lynch.
“Mark my words, this is going to be the Matt Lynch show,” Coach DiMonte said. “Rowan is going to win both games down there and Matt Lynch is going to be the reason why.”
Despite the fact the DIII team didn’t win both games, they did split the series and Lynch was an absolute brick wall in net. Lynch saw 57 shots in game one and 49 in game two, and saved 99 of those 106 shots.
While Lynch was as good as he was, the team in front of him wasn’t on that same level in game one. The aforementioned 57 shots by FGCU was countered with 15 by the Profs, with a final score of 6-3.
In game two, the Profs were eager for another crack at this team, which they capitalized on in a 4-1 victory. The Profs scored two in the first period with goals from Ryan Robertson and Colin Sullo.
The second period, FGCU cut the deficit in half and scored on the power play, but the Profs made sure to come out in the third and get insurance goals.
This was a much less disciplined game than the first, as both teams ended up taking six penalties all together. Lynch was again very solid in net, making 48 saves on 49 shots. With these performances, there is a possibility of Lynch being called up to the DII squad sooner than later.
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