Club hockey team advances in ACHA tournament

The Delaware club hockey team beat Robert Morris 3-1 Saturday night in the first round of the ACHA Hockey Championships.

After falling behind 1-0 in the second period, forward Dave Lombardi opened up the scoring for Delaware with 2:08 left in the period. Forward Michael Piet's goal with 4:23 left in the third put the Hens on top for good, and forward Christian Tasker's empty-net goal with less than a minute left sealed the victory.

Most of the game was a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to keep possession of the puck. The first period ended scoreless despite many shots on net by each team.

Delaware sophomore goaltender SJ Broadt saved 26 of the 27 shots on net. The Hens were also strong on the face-offs throughout the game. Nicholas LePore contributed assists along with Brandon Weiner, Paul Tropsa and Mark Zeszut.

"We went down 1-0 and really showed a lot of character coming back," freshman forward LePore said.

Dan Venet, Robert Morris' senior goalie, kept the Colonials in the game by saving 37 of the 39 shots he faced. Delaware's depth tired Robert Morris as the game played out, giving the Hens several easy chances toward the end of the game. Despite the loss, Venet's performance drew praise from Delaware head coach M.F. Schurman.

"Their goalie was phenomenal," Schurman said. "He kept them in the game all game long, but they didn't have a lot of depth, so we wore them down as the game went along."

Next up for Delaware is fourth-seeded Adrian, Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Rust Arena. Adrian dominated the 13th-seeded Stony Brook on Saturday night 7-2. Jared Semple led Adrian with two goals, including one of the four straight the Bulldogs had to close out the third period.

Fifth-seeded Delaware goes in as the underdog, but hosting the tournament gives the Hens the home ice advantage.

"I think we're as good as anyone on paper," Schurman said. "It's just a matter of how consistently we play and our ability to stay five-on-five and stay out of the penalty box."