The University of Rhode Island men’s club hockey wrapped up their two-game series against the Drexel University Dragons Saturday afternoon with a 5-2 victory at Boss Ice Arena.
The Rams had no problem breaking the puck out, resulting in multiple goals that started from their own defensive zone.
Midway through the first period, first-year forward Max Lockwood retrieved the puck in the defensive zone skating up-ice into Drexel territory. From there, Lockwood skated outside the right faceoff dot before sliding the puck over to third-year forward Alex Cudd in the slot. Without hesitation, Cudd caught the puck on his forehand and rifled it into the net, giving the Rams a 1-0 lead.
“[Max Lockwood] did all the work,” Cudd said. “[He] came back wide and basically passed it into the net for me.”
This wasn’t the only goal Cudd scored, as one period later the third-year forward netted his second of the game. Entering the offensive zone, Cudd attempted to skate outside and around the opposing defender. Drexel’s defenseman, positioning himself well around the faceoff dot, made it hard for Cudd to either get a shot on net or move around him with speed. However, Cudd managed to push his way towards the left post, placing the puck on his backhand and roofing it top right to extend URI’s lead to 3-0.
“Little bit of chaos. I pushed [the puck] down the left wall, saw a little bit of space and I decided to go backhand,” Cudd said. “ Luckily for me it went in.”
Before Cudd’s second goal, second-year defenseman Tim Crane scored his first of the season with eight minutes remaining in the first period. With the puck loose in the offensive zone, Crane picked it up from the point and fired it to the top left corner of the net.
The Rams managed to make it four unanswered goals against Drexel with their fourth goal coming from second-year defenseman Zach Bell. URI was generating momentum in the offensive zone, and a shot from the left circle resulted in a rebound, forcing Drexel goalie Ryan Nocerino out of his net. Crashing from the point, Bell retrieved the puck from the slot and skated towards the goal line. With his back facing Bell, O’Brien made an attempt to get back into his net. This resulted in Bell deciding to shoot the puck at O’Brien, which ricocheted into the back of the net for the fourth goal of the game, giving the Rams a 4-0 lead.
“We took advantage of some of the mistakes they made, but we gave them too many chances,” Head Coach Joe Augustine said after the game.
Those chances became apparent during the end of the second period, as Drexel picked up two goals before the period expired, turning the score 4-2. In the third period, the Dragons found their stride offensively and ended the game with 28 shots on net.
Half of their shot total came from the third period alone, but despite this, fourth-year goalie Curtis Briggs stopped all 14 shots faced in this period, shutting down two Drexel power play opportunities.
URI ended up being the only team to score in this period. Second-year forward Corey Szabo buried a rebound in the front of the net late in the period, sealing the victory for the Rams and bringing them to a 13-11-2 record.
Next weekend, the Rams will continue their homestand, as they will face off against the Stony Brook University Seawolves on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m.