After an 11-10-overtime loss against St. John’s, Hofstra looks to get back on track in its second Colonial Athletic Conference matchup of the season on the road against No. 20 Drexel in the inaugural Hero Bowl this Saturday at 4 pm.
Looking at the numbers, Hofstra (4-3, 1-0 CAA) is .539 (82-152) on its face-off percentage while Drexel is .638 (118-185). Hofstra is .310 on the man-up and Drexel is .393.
Hofstra saw their four-game winning streak snapped when Kieran McArdle scored 1:36 into the first overtime to give St. John’s the win. Hofstra junior Mike Malave led the Pride with three-goals and two assists sending the game into overtime. Senior Drew Coholan scored three goals while Lance Yapor tacked on two goals. Junior goalie Chris Selva made 12 saves in the loss, two being in overtime.
Drexel (4-3) defeated Mount St. Mary’s 9-6 after the Dragons were staked to a 5-0 lead thanks to five different goal scorers. Senior Ben McIntosh, on the 2014 Tewaaraton Watch List, led the Dragons with three goals while sophomore goalkeeper Will Gabrielsen made nine saves to secure the win. Junior Nick Saputo, hot in his face-offs, won 15 of 19 on the day.
Players to watch on the Dragons include McIntosh (20G, 5A), red-shirt freshman Cole Shafer (16G, 13A), senior Nick Trizano (17G, 8A) and Saputo (2G, 1A) with .656 at the face-off X for the season.
The last time Hofstra and Drexel met, the Pride fell 8-7 in a triple overtime thriller. Coholan scored a career-high three goals and Selva post a career-high 16 saves. McIntosh was clutch capping off his hat trick one minute into the third overtime.
A 7-4 lead into the third quarter was not enough for Hofstra as the Dragons rallied to outscore the Pride 3-0 in the fourth quarter sending the matchup into overtime.
This Saturday’s game, the HEADstrong Hero Bowl is an annual event where both teams help to raise blood cancer awareness by wearing the HEADstrong foundations lime green shoelaces and crew socks inspired by former Hofstra athlete Nicholas Colleluori and his fight against cancer. HEADstrong looks to recognize survivors during the matchup who are key advocators of the foundation.
Both teams will face-off at 4 pm at Vidas Field in Philadelphia.
