Boxscore
Galloway, NJ – Stockton University (16-2) eight goals in the first quarter and went on to 17-11 win over U.S Merchant Marine Academy (11-4) in the semifinals of the Skyline Conference Tournament. With the win, the Ospreys set a school record for victories in a season with 16 and advanced to the Skyline championship game for the third straight year.
Zack Aho (Shamong/Seneca) led the way for Stockton with five goals and two assists on the night.
Mike Caposella (Wayne/DePaul Catholic) contributed four goals and one assist for the Ospreys.
Starting at the 11:51 mark in the opening period, Caposella,
Tyler Bollard (Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan) and
Lance Pecina (Clark/Arthur L. Johnson) scored the first three markers of the game in a 29-second span to give the Ospreys a quick 3-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, Aho made it 4-0 before Nick Roros stopped the streak with the first goal of the night for the Mariners to cut the margin to 4-1.
Erik Anderson (Monroe Twp. /Monroe Twp.),
Joey Tiernan (Voorhees/Eastern), Aho and
Colin Shea (Rumson/Rumson-Fair Haven) added to the total for an 8-1 margin after one period.
The Mariners rebounded with five tallies in the second period to four for Stockton, as the Ospreys took a 12-6 lead into the half. Tiernan, Caposella, Aho and
Tommy Gallo (Clinton/North Hunterdon) scored for the Ospreys in the period and the margin never dipped below three.
The visitors kept the pressure on in the third frame, outscoring Stockton 4-2 to cut the lead to four at 14-10. Aho scored the first goal of the period before the Mariners responded with four straight markers to slice the gap to 13-10. Shea, on an assist from Aho, stretched the lead to 14-10 after three quarters.
The Ospreys salted the game away in the final period as Caposella tallied twice, once on an assist from Aho, before returning the favor on the final goal by Aho. One tally by the Mariners set the final score at 17-11, sending the Ospreys to the Skyline title game with their seventh straight win.
Shea and Tiernan each scored twice while Bollard won 20 of 30 faceoffs and scooped a game-high eight ground balls.
Justin Ruiz (Holmdel/Holmdel) kicked out eight shots in net for the victory.
The Mariners were led by Pat Coll with four goals, with Nick Treon adding three goals and three assists. Dave Ossing played the first half in net, making nine saves, but taking the loss. Zac Tilley finished up with a seven-save effort in the second half as Stockton outshot the Mariners 56-36 on the night, with 33 attempts on net.
Stockton will travel to Montclair State for the Skyline Conference championship on Saturday. The opening faceoff is set for noon.
