Old Bethpage, NY - In front of a packed house, Pat Rosa scored three goals to lead the Hofstra Pride past cross island rival Stony Brook 6-3.

 

With almost 250 people on hand, Hofstra and Stony Brook put on a show. The game started with a touching number retirement ceremony for AJ Frey, an original founder of the Hofstra club, who in his time with the team played goalie, defense, coached and handled pretty much everything for the club. Hofstra started as a part time affiliate, became a Division II Regional Champion and eventually built a very respected Division I program under Frey's watch. Forever more, Frey's #4 will hang in the rafters at the Skatesafe Arena, never to be worn again.

 

The game itself didn't fail to dissapoint the packed arena. Things got off to a slow start as the emotions of the game led to a varity of penalties as the teams couldn't control their emotions. Eventually things got under control and Hofstra was the first to strike. Pat Rosa scored back to back tallies, with the second coming with the man advantage to give the Pride the 2-0 lead. Stony Brook seemed to be ready to get out of the period, but instead, Matt Ketcham scored the with just 1.3 seconds remaining in the period for a 3-0 lead.

 

The second period saw the tide shift towards Stony Brook, however, Andre Robitalle stood tall and helped Hofstra hold the lead. Stony Brook refused to give up, and finally found the back of the net with four minutes to go in the period when Steve Licul scored to cut the lead to 3-1. The lead would hold up at the conclusion of the period.

 

The third period had a little bit of everything. Phil Casico and Tom Fargardo scored goals for Stony Brook, the Fargardo tally coming with 2:25 remaining in the game, stunning the packed arena.

 

Hofstra didn't back down and with 1:11 to go in the game, Michael Scardigno fired the puck high over the glove for a stunning 4-3 Hofstra lead. Matt Ketcham and Pat Rosa finished of the scoring with two pretty passing goals in the final seconds of the game to give Hofstra a thrilling 6-3 victory. The crowd ended the game chanting Pat Rosa's name after his hattrick provided the winning margin against their arch rivals.