April 18, 2008

Stony Brook, N.Y. - As the season winds down Stony Brook faces a tough stretch to close out the regular season. Beginning with the game against Binghamton, the Seawolves will play two road games and one ranked opponent in the space of a week. The game against the Bearcats will be an important America East match-up for Stony Brook as the team looks to gain its first conference win on the road this season. A victory for the Seawolves will clinch a spot in the America East Tournament in May. Stony Brook comes into the contest with back-to-back wins, the second time this season that SBU has won multiple games in a row. Still receiving votes in both the coaches and media polls, the Seawolves continue to be among the most potent offenses in the nation, entering this week fifth in the nation in goals per game. Freshman Jordan McBride is third in the country in goals per game, with fellow freshman Kevin Crowley and senior Rhys Duch among the top five in assists this week. McBride and Crowley are 1-2 in the nation among freshmen in scoring.

The Series

Stony Brook and Binghamton have played a very competitive series over the seven games played between the two, with the Seawolves currently riding a two-game win streak that has given them a 4-3 edge in the series. The two schools have played every year that the two have been members of the America East (since 2002) to account for all of the games in the series. Last season Stony Brook came away with an 11-8 decision at home, with Bo Tripodi scoring four goals to lead the Seawolves. The last game at Binghamton was a close, 9-8, Stony Brook win that gave the Seawolves a 1-1 record in games at Binghamton. This game will be the first between the two in the Bearcats new facility, the Bearcats Sports Complex.

A Look at the Bearcats

Binghamton has gone 3-6 so far this season but are coming off of its first America East win of the season, a 6-5 victory at Vermont that broke a five-game losing streak. It was the fourth time this season that the Bearcats have had a game decided by two or less goals, with the team going 2-2 in those close games. Offense has been hard to come by so far for the Bearcats who have averaged just 4.67 goals per game, the lowest mark in Division I. Steven Carlson leads the team with eight goals, with Chris Mulheron pacing the team with 10 total points. Defensively the team has been solid, ranking 20th in scoring defense at 8.0 goals per game, with its man-down defense coming in at No. 4 in the nation. Goalkeeper Larry Kline is ranked among the top-20 in the nation with his 7.89 GAA.