Men’s hockey drops two games against Delaware

The URI men’s ice hockey team was defeated in both contests against the University of Delaware this weekend. The Rams now sit in the bottom half of their division, with a 5-6 record.

Game 1 was a heartbreaker for the Rams as they lost in a three-round shootout, 5-4. The biggest story was not the final score, however, but the injury of starting defenseman Joseph Gravina. In the beginning of the second period Gravina was hit from behind and thrown into the boards by Blue Hens forward John Redgate, injuring Gravina. Neither player returned to the game, as Redgate was ejected, and Gravina exited the game with the injury.

“He’s got a badly bruised knee and right now he’s day to day,” head coach Joe Augustine said. “He doesn’t have any structural damage, so he should be okay,” Gravina, who had started in every game up to that point, has three assists through 11 games this season.

On Saturday the Rams looked to take three out of four points from the weekend, but the Blue Hens spoiled their plans and defeated them 3-2. Despite only taking one point from the weekend, and losing their last four games at home, Augustine believes that this was an excellent weekend for the Rams, saying that either team could have won both games.

“Couple bounces here and there on both sides,” Augustine said. “But I thought we played much better and hopefully we just have to try and build off this.”

Augustine also went on to say that he thinks his team played some of its best hockey of the season. “I think we competed for 60 minutes. The games previously we played good for a period or two and we would kind of take a dip. We competed and played hard for 60 minutes and that’s something we haven’t done all season.”

It’s safe to say that despite only two wins in their last four games the Rams are playing excellent hockey as of late, with 17 goals over their last four games. If this pace keeps up, the Rams should be in great shape for the rest of the season

The Rams stay at home next weekend, facing off against the 7-7 Towson University. Game 1 is Friday at 7 p.m., followed by a Saturday night game, also at 7 p.m.