The University of Rhode Island men’s club hockey team was swept by no. 1 Stony Brook University on the road this weekend, dropping them to 1-3 and digging themselves a hole early in the season.
The Rams struggled to get in an offensive rhythm in both games. Their defense had to fend off the barrage of shots that the ACHA Division I’s best team was able to manufacture.
The Rams nearly overcome a four-goal deficit on Friday after senior forward Robbie Buehrer scored twice to bring his team within one. Stony Brook fired back and ultimately secured victory, 6-4.
The second game was more one-sided throughout with little doubt that the Seawolves would fold. The final score was 6-3 in Stony Brook’s favor.
Stony Brook outshot the Rams 80-46 over the course of both games. The team also struggled to stay on the ice, amassing eighteen penalties in the first game. Head coach Joe Augustine treated the unfavorable matchups as a “barometer” for where they are right now as a team.
“It was a combination of them being the best team in the country and in the first ten minutes of each game [we] let them do what they want,” Augustine said. “After the first period we actually played quite well. We just came out so flat. They jumped on us 4-0 in the first game and 3-0 in the second. That’s too big of a hole to get out of as a team.”
The squad has obviously not started the way they had hoped, and after a couple of grueling road trips in the early going, the no. 15 Rams currently sit at the bottom of the standings. Augustine knows the team has work to do.
“We have holes that we have to fill and work on some things. We’re kind of young too so this was a huge test for our guys,” Augustine said. “We see where we are and where we need to get to.”
The Rams will have another tough test when they meet undefeated Westchester Friday night in the Bradford Boss Arena on Friday.