Wilkes Men’s Hockey was back in action for the first time since Feb. 15, facing off against Alvernia in the MAC Men’s Hockey Championship semifinals. The Colonels and Golden Wolves played three times during the regular season, with two of the games going to a shootout. The shootouts were split by the two sides.
The Colonels came into the game on a four game winning streak, with their final regular season game being a 5-0 win over Alvernia on senior day.
Alvernia came into the game winning their last three out of five. Their most recent game was a 7-0 win over Lebanon Valley.
The Colonels got the scoring underway with a goal about eight minutes when Cam Lowe found the twine. Grabbing the assists on the play were Patrick Roginski and Carter Jordan.
They scored again to make it a 2-0 game when Matt Carlson found the back of the net on the power play. Jordan picked up his second assist of the night on the goal, with Miles Harrington grabbing one as well. The Colonels went into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead over the Golden Wolves.
The Colonels struck again about 14 minutes into the second frame Max Cocchi grabbed a goal off of assists from Nick Swain and Daniel Nau. Just 11 seconds later, Lowe grabbed his second goal of the night. Roginski tallied his second assist of the night, with Jordan providing his third. The Colonels went into the second intermission leading 4-0.
The home team scored two more goals in the third period. Swain found the twine himself off of assists from Cole Jungwirth and Cocchi. Scoring the final goal of the game Leyton Pettypiece made it 6-0, while Luke Dobles and Jake Kloss provided the helpers.
The Colonels had several multi-point scorers on the night in Cocchi, Jordan, Lowe and Roginski. Goaltender Jack Perna earned the shutout, making 39 saves as he stonewalled the Alvernia offense.
Alvernia’s Jacob Stern made 29 saves on 35 total shots. Brock Mueller led the team in shots with five. Justin Pare and Matthew Imbriano had two blocked shots each, which led the Golden Wolves in that category.
The Colonels now move on to play Stevenson University on March 8 for the MAC Championship. During the regular season, the two teams faced each other three times, with Wilkes losing two out of the three, with one of the losses coming in overtime.
It will be a home game for Wilkes from the Toyota Sportsplex. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Mustangs.
If the Colonels win the final, they would then be able to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division 3 national championship bracket.
For more information regarding Wilkes Hockey and all of Colonels sports, stay tuned to The Beacon.