Temple’s third season sweep of an opponent was tied to coach Ryan Frain shuffling his lines for Friday’s game against Monmouth.
Frain moved forward Brett Woyshner from his usual third line to start on a line with fellow forwards Greg Malinowski and Cody Vassa.
“We decided to put [Greg] Malinowski back and then put Brett [on the other side],” Frain said. “It’s just what we decided to go with tonight. We just gave him a shot. They all made me look good.”
Woyshner rewarded Frain’s faith by scoring on the first shift of the game, and later added an assist. The Owls took the early lead and never looked back as they defeated the IceHawks, 6-3, on Friday night at Jersey Shore Arena.
The Owls entered the IceHawks’ zone after the opening faceoff before Woysner coddled a pass and scored off a turnaround shot.
“It was pretty cool,” forward Joey Powell said. “It was a good goal. I was happy for him. I think everybody was. It [sort of] got us into the game.”
Woyshner has just two assists on the season, but Frain said he likes Woyshner’s ability to play bigger than his 5-foot-6 frame.
“Brett is always busting his tail in practice and in games,” Frain said. “Obviously he is a small kid, but he plays big. He’s not afraid to go in the corner and get his [jersey] dirty. He’s got a lot of heart. If he keeps playing like that he is going to keep getting minutes like he did tonight.”
A second line change figured into the final decision as Temple defensemen John Anthony, Ryan Dumbach and Alex Wizna missed the contest with upper body injuries. Frain restructured his defense and paired defensemen Matt Krulikowski and Aron Litostankski together.
“They did a really good job tonight,” Frain said. “They were on the ice for three or four of our goals out of the six, and both of them played very well defensively. [They were] moving the puck well, taking the body a lot, pretty much all night, and [took] care of Scott [Salamon], our goalie all night.”
Monmouth never recovered after Woyshner’s score as the IceHawks were down 5-1 heading into the third period. Malinowski, Powell and forward Brady O’Donnell added goals for the Owls.
Temple’s next game is tonight at 7 p.m. against Penn State as Temple will be looking to avenge a 3-2 overtime loss on Oct. 26.
“[We hope for] a better effort then we put forth tonight,” Frain said. I think the guys know that. It’s huge for the rankings, [and] it’s huge for bragging rights. Obviously both teams don’t like each other, but other than that we have to stay out of the box and we have to play smart.”
“We can’t put that team on the power play,” Frain added. “[They have] very good players. Last game was a very good game, not the result that we wanted. We just have to go out there and work hard and give ourselves a chance to win.”
Stephen Godwin Jr. can be reached at stephen.godwin@temple.edu or on Twitter @StephenGodwinJr.
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