The Colonels came off of a big 7-0 on-the-road win over Arcadia on Friday night.  Both senior Tyler Barrow and Phil Erickson put up two goals for Wilkes to make up for more than half of the final score.  

On Saturday, Wilkes continued to add a win to the column as they beat the Lebanon Valley College Flying Dutchmen 8-1.  

“Keeping our tempo up is what we have done a great job of this year as a team,” said head coach Tyler Hynes.  “Assistant coach Lucas Bombardier is definitely one of the things that is different for us this year and it has made us better.” 

In the beginning of Saturday’s matchup, Wilkes had a hard time getting possession offensively. Once they did, there was no stopping them in sight.

Wilkes pounded the puck into the net in the first period. Senior Ben Stefanini scored at the 9:33 mark of the first period. Exactly one minute later, senior Phil Erickson assisted senior Devon Schell as he nailed one in the corner of the goal.  

“​​We thought we had a good start and once we were able to get one (goal) we knew we were going to be able to get rolling,” said Stefanini. “Schell was able to follow up not long after.”

The Flying Dutchmen started to make a drive at Wilkes leading to two Colonel penalties 35 seconds apart. Lebanon went on a power-play run but Wilkes’ three defenders and senior goalie Nico Pidro held them for the entirety of the penalty timer. 

Wilkes gained control of the puck as senior Scott Mueller came out of the sin-bin. First-year Cole Jungworth’s penalty timed out and Wilkes had all of their skaters back on the ice. The Colonels made a speedy play down the ice and senior Michael Gurska came from the left-wing and snuck one right past the Lebanon goalie and one other defender. The scoreboard read 3-0 going into the second period.

“What is so great about our team right now is our penalty kill and how much we are willing to sacrifice,” said Gurska. “It has helped us build momentum all season long and it showed tonight, just felt good to turn good defense into offense.”

The second period started off with a goal from senior Dylan Kuipers at the 15:31 mark, assisted by Stefanini.  Four minutes after Kuiper’s goal, senior Jay Gallagher nailed one in after getting an assist from senior Tyler Dill. 

With five and a half minutes left, graduate-student Taylor Brierley scored as the Colonels controlled the majority of the period. 

With three seconds left on the clock in the second period, Stefanini drove one in unassisted to make the scoreboard read 7-0.

“When Stefanini does something good, it invigorates our entire team,” said Hynes.  

With Wilkes up by seven, the Colonels made a change in goal by putting in first-year goalie Jack Perna.

At the 17:25 mark, Dill took a shot at the Lebanon Valley goal and it paid off, making the score 8-0.

With two minutes left in the game, Cade Freer of Lebanon snuck one past Perna.  

“This was a fun game to be a part of and an even better team to be a part of right now,” said Gurska.  “We are playing great hockey at the right time and tonight was a great example of that.”

The Colonels’ next matchup will take place Feb. 11 as they face the Nazareth College Golden Flyers.