Delaware 19, Detroit 6

It was an ugly one in Newark. The Titans battle Delaware to a 4-4 stalemate at halftime, but the story of the game was a 12-1 Blue Hen run in the third quarter to slam the door on an upset bid.

Tempo Free

From the official box score, a look at the tempo-free stats:

Early in the game, it was apparent that this wouldn’t be a barn-burner in terms of pace. It ended up a little faster (thanks to the high-output third quarter from Delaware), but for two of last year’s fastest teams, only 77 possessions was a bit of a letdown.

Although Delaware finished with an absurd efficiency number, the story of the game was actually – like all of last year – the performance on faceoffs. Delaware’s Dan Cooney won 18 of 23 faceoffs, including 11 of 13 in the third quarter, effectively allowing Delaware to play make-it take-it and tire out the Detroit defense, and run away with the game. All three Titans who faced off saw their fair share of struggles.

From an offensive perspective, the first half saw plenty of missed opportunities for both teams, but moreso for Detroit. With a little more valuing of possession, the Titans could have gone into the locker room with a lead, and that could have changed the entire course of the game.

Defensively, as mentioned above, the Titans just ran out of gas when they were constantly defending 6-v-6 (or just as often, man-down) during the third quarter. With very few offensive possessions in the third, there just wasn’t enough energy or depth to keep up the success while maintaining an aggressive identity.

Notes

This game was a letdown, no doubt. However, it still doesn’t diminish Detroit’s larger goals on the season, and playing with a top-20 team like Delaware, even if only for a half, proves that they have the skills to run with good teams. Hopefully the final margin doesn’t destroy the team’s confidence.

11 caused turnovers on 46 Delaware possessions shows that UDM is going to maintain their defensive identity from last year. Unfortunately, the Blue Hens had some success causing turnovers themselves, with 10 on 31 Titan possessions.

On the other side of the coin, it felt like the Titans were man-down the entire game. Nine penalties committed for 6:00 is too much to win a game as an underdog, especially if the risks don’t pay off with a disproportionate number of turnovers caused. Delaware scored five goals on nine man-up opportunities – and were 4/4 in the fateful third quarter.

Shocker of the century: Shayne Adams led Detroit in scoring, with three goals. Joel Matthews and Scott Harris had a goal and an assist each. The offense looked like it was running smoothly, although there were moments of sloppy play. That’s to be expected in a road opener, and hopefully improves quickly.

Freshman Chris Kelly starter the game in goal (a surprise, unless you read Reg’s lengthy preview on Friday), and stopped eight shots while allowing four goals in the first half. A.J. Levell got the nod between the pipes after halftime, but got yanked after allowing four quick goals. The battle at goalie should be a surprisingly spirited one, if this game is any indication. If Kelly can unseat a multi-year starter, he’s something special.

Delaware’s Grant Kaleikau was unquestionably the star of the game with four goals and four assists. Danny Keane and Sean Finnegan each put in four goals of their own for the Blue Hens.

Up Next

The Titans take on Ohio State Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Columbus. The game will take place indoors at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Detroit fell to Ohio State in a 4-3 nail-biter last season.