Temple (6-2-2) ended its four-game road trip with a 5-2 victory over the University of Delaware on Sunday.
“I’m very pleased with today’s performance,” coach Ryan Frain said. “Delaware is one of those teams that we’re going to be going down to the wire with trying to get spots in the regional playoffs.”
After dropping two games to start the four-game road stretch, Temple finished strong by winning their last two.
Sunday’s contest didn’t see a goal until midway through the second period when the Blue Hens opened up the scoring. But it was answered less than two minutes later when junior forward Philip Vassilev tallied the equalizer.
Then with about five minutes left in the second, junior forward Stephen Kennedy was able to get behind the Blue Hens defense and score a breakaway goal while Temple was short-handed to give Temple a 2-1 lead.
“I got a good pass from [junior forward Brady O’Donnell],” Kennedy said. “I took a look behind me to see if anybody was trailing and realized I was in there by myself. I wanted to avoid trying to do a move, so I just kept it simple and shot the puck and it seemed to work.”
The lead was short lived though, and with 1:57 left in the second, Delaware scored to tie the game at two going into the third period.
But the third period belonged to Temple.
Less than two minutes into the final period, sophomore forward and team captain Greg Malinowski scored to give the Owls a 3-2 advantage.
Thirty seconds later, sophomore defenseman Patrick Hanrahan followed Malinowski’s goal with a goal of his own.
Sophomore forward Cody Vassa scored the last goal of the game with 4:13, giving Temple a 5-2 victory.
“Everyone was on the same page today,” Malinowski said. “Going into the third period we said in the locker room that we need to take this game in the first five minutes and we did. It’s exactly what the doctor ordered after the two loses last weekend.”
“It was a good rebound,” Kennedy said. “We needed it, especially when it gives us momentum heading into next weekend.”
The Owls will need that momentum for next weekend, as they will take on rival Maryland on Friday night home at Northeast Skate Zone at 9:20 p.m.
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