Chris Blewitt’s 4 Goals Propels St. Joe’s to First Win Over Monmouth

New Jersey native Chris Blewitt’s 4 goals lead St. Joseph’s (1-3) to a 11-5 rout over Monmouth (2-3) Saturday afternoon at Kessler stadium in West Long Branch, NJ.

Blewitt opened the scoring with 2 goals in the first 3 minutes. Attack Mike Rastivo tallied 2 goals on 5 shots. Blewitt’s 4 goals puts him as the St. Joe’s leader in points with 12. He has scored 7 goals this season. Blewitt scored a buzzer beater, at the end of the second period

“It was a really solid win from goaltending, to face-off, to transition, to offense,” St. Joe’s head coach Taylor Wray said after the game. “I’m really pleased with how well we played today.”

St. Joe’s goalkeeper Mike Adler made 13 saves on 35 shots. This is the fourth game in a row Adler has made double digit saves. He was eventually subbed out after the 13 minute mark, as senior goaltender Pat Dillon was subbed into the game.

Monmouth first got on the board when redshirt senior captain Dylan Schulte scored his sixth of the season, 5 minutes in. Goalkeeper Noah Lode was credited with the assist.

The second period featured 4 St. Joe’s goals: 2 for Blewit and 1 for Rastivo and Kyle Cain. Davis Stoner assisted on both of Blewitt’s goals.

Monmouth’s Griffin Figel and Dan Bloodgood scored in the second period. Bloodgood would score his second of the game in the fourth period.

In the first three periods, St. Joe’s was able to take advantage of chances off clears. They were 12-12 through three periods on clears. Through these clears, the Hawks’ offense was engaged, usually through mids Tyler Makar and Nich Vernacchio. Vernacchio assisted on Patrick O’Brien’s goal in the fourth period.

After halftime, St. Joe’s continued to put padding on their lead. Evan Campbell, Hayes McGinley, and O’Brien scored in the third period. Monmouth was held to only 2 shots on goal that period.

St. Joe’s lack of fourth quarter scoring was apparent today. Prior to their win against Monmouth, SJU had scored 1 goal in the last quarter all season. Patrick O’Brien’s 2nd goal of the game continued this last quarter trend. The Hawks also had 2 shots on goal in the fourth quarter alone.

Monmouth and St. Joe’s both could not capitalize on extra-man opportunities. SJU could not score on 3 man-up chances. Monmouth’s Garrett Pfeifer earned 90 total penalty seconds, as he was credited with one minor and one major in the last period. MU could not convert on one man-up opportunity.

St. Joe’s won more than half of the faceoffs (13), while Monmouth struggled to jumpstart their offense, finishing with 6 faceoff wins.

Next up for the two teams:

Monmouth looks to rebound against Hofstra (2-2) on Tuesday, March 13. Hofstra defeated UNC Saturday for the Pride’s second win of the season.

St. Joe’s will look for their second win, next Tuesday, as they take on the Drexel Dragons (2-3). The Dragons defeated Bryant 12-9 on Saturday.