Over the weekend, the University of Rhode Island men’s hockey team hosted West Chester University in a two-game series.
On Friday night, Rhode Island opened the game by pouring 20 shots on net in the first period, ending the game with 48.
The Rams started hot as third-year Cameron Cyr scored, assisted by third-year Aidan Darlington and second-year Jared Weisert, just 8:41 into the game to put the Rams in front 1-0.
Shortly after, third-year Owen Hall netted a goal, assisted by first-year Colin Callaghan and second-year Charlie Nelson. First-year Aidan Callaghan drew a tripping penalty, but the Rams still closed out the first period with a 2-0 lead.
In the second period, West Chester responded as second-year Dylan Ickes scored on the power play, assisted by fourth-year Kenny Duffield. Later, the Golden Rams leveled the score at two with a goal by fourth-year Logan Myers, assisted by third-year Joey Carderelli.
West Chester scored its final goal in the third period that gave them the 3-2 lead and the eventual win on Friday night.
“West Chester is great at special teams,” fourth-year Max Lockwood said. “We worked hard to make adjustments while also fixing our own errors in practice.”
The Rams had the chance to bounce back and split the two-game series on Saturday.
It was another strong start, outshooting West Chester 16 to 11 in the first period. Similar to Friday’s contest, the Rams drew one penalty in the first period.
In the second period, the Rams let up three unanswered goals by third-year Chase Khounsacknarath, third-year Dominic D’Alessandro and second-year Dylan Hineman.
The Rams could not find the back of the net as West Chester continued to draw penalties throughout the contest. The Rams struggled on the power play as they went 0-4 and also got outshot in the second period, 17 to 9.
The Rams had one more chance in the third period to make a comeback. While the Rams outshot the Golden Rams 10 to 8, they could not find the back of the net, losing the game 3-0, finishing 0-2 on the weekend.
“Our coaching staff outlines goals and adjustments for us each week,” Lockwood said, “Which speaks to our progress as a team getting better as the season progresses.”
After three tough matchups against Drexel University, the United States Naval Academy and West Chester, the Golden Rams were the only team URI was swept by.
The University of Rhode Island men’s hockey team will travel to Philadelphia next week to take on Temple University across Friday and Saturday.
Head coach Joe Augustine looks forward to the Chicago Classic from Nov. 20-22, as he is from the area. The event will be a time to see where Rhode Island stands in its season.
