(boxscore)
Widener came back from a pair of two-goal deficits and nearly rallied from a third, but it saw the end of its four-year reign as Middle Atlantic Conference champions with an 8-7 loss at FDU-Florham in the final in Madison, NJ.
FDU (13-4) came out looking to take the rubber out of the ball and did exactly that, slowing the pace down to grab a 4-3 halftime lead. Adam Koontz scored twice in the half for the Devils, who squandered a 2-0 lead and eventually would lose a 4-2 cushion early in the third quarter.
Sophomore JJ Hoeffler (Cranford, NJ) scored 1:26 into the fourth quarter to bring Widener within 6-5. The teams went scoreless for the next nine minutes until Jason Koontz restored the two-goal margin for the Devils with 4:23 to play.
Junior Cory Malampy (Ridley, PA) tallied with 3:27 to go as the Pride moved to 7-6, but back came the Devils as Kevin Shadiack scored with 2:14 remaining for another two-goal deficit.
Freshman Brian Rogers (Malvern, PA) scored for Widener with 77 seconds left to make it 8-7. Junior Dave Simcox (Ridley, PA) won a critical face-off and the Pride look for the tying goal. But a shot never came as Widener turned it over and FDU ran out the clock.
Hoeffler ended with three goals and sophomore Kevin Carney (Ridley, PA) made nine saves for the Pride, who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
Jason Koontz netted three goals with Shadiack and Adam Koontz scoring twice.
Widener could not overcome FDU going 3-for-4 on extra-man opportunities and Taylor Evans winning 12-of-16 face-offs. The Pride fell to 17-3 in this tournament despite advancing to the final a fifth straight year.
