St. Joseph’s goalie Christopher D’Alessio looked sharp at the outset.
DAlessio blocked all 16 shots the Owls fired on the goaltender that allowed his team to lead 1-0 after the opening frame.
“We didn’t have guys in front of the net and we were more off to the side,” coach Ryan Frain said. “I told the forwards, ‘You’re useless out there.’ A shot from the point doesn’t have to be hard, it just has to be placed right.”
The Owls responded by outshooting the Hawks 23-8 in the second period and scored six goals through the final two periods as they won 6-1 on Nov. 8 at the Haverford Skatium Sunday night. Forward Patrick Golden scored a pair of goals, while four different members of the team had multi-point games.
Golden looked confident shooting the puck against the Hawks after scoring his first goal of the season Friday night against Rider.
Freshman Scott Salamon started in net for the Owls and notched his fourth win with one save allowed.
Rookie forward Eric Graham scored his first goal of the season, when he put back a shot from the point from forward Greg Malinowski.
The goal marked redemption for Graham after he lost control of a puck on a breakaway near the end of the first period.
“I think I was thinking too much,” Graham said. “I knew I had [Cody] Vassa coming up behind so I was kind of think a lot about what I was going to do and it just came off my stick I guess.”
Frain is not surprised by the sudden strides two of his young players are taking as he views it as mental thing.
“These guys are on the roster because we know they can play and know they can produce,” Frain said. “Whether they say it bothers them or not I think it’s always in the back of their mind. Once that first one goes in and you start getting some more chances it kind of relives the stress in your body and your able to just go out there and just focus on playing hockey.”
Graham’s mishap was only one of a few bad fortunes for the Owls as they bounced shots off the Hawks cross bar three times and forward Joey Powell broke his stick on a slap shot.
The Owls also did have good fortune on their side as well as a third-period carom off the Hawks’ post that team captain Greg Malinowski scored. Another goal was strategically played off a Hawk’s defenseman’s leg by forward Stephen Kennedy.
The Hawks scored in the first three minutes on Temple, when forward Louis Ferrara scored on a pass in front of Salamon’s net from forward Ryan Schuck.
“I thought we were a little flat-footed and [St. Joe’s.] worked their [butts] off for the first 20 minutes,” Frain said. “It just showed that they wanted it more to be honest with you.”
Temple only converted one of its four power play chances, but limited its own time in the box to just two.
The Owls are now 10-6 and are off until Friday when they play the University of Toledo at 9:30 p.m.
Stephen Godwin Jr. can be reached at stephen.godwin@temple.edu or on Twitter @StephenGodwinJr.
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