Ice Hockey Begins Quest For 2006 Northeast-10 Title Friday Evening As Third-Seeded Skyhawks Entertain Assumption In Quarterfinal Round Action

February 23, 2006

Stonehill (13-9) begins its quest for its first Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey championship this evening as the third-seeded Skyhawks entertain the sixth-seeded Assumption Ice Dogs (5-18-1) in quarterfinal round action of this year's championship tournament.

Stonehill finished tied for third in the final regular season Northeast-10 standings after dropping a heartbreaking 5-4 conference decision to Saint Anselm on Tuesday evening here at the Bridgewater Ice Arena, as the Skyhawks jumped out to a 4-0 second period advantage only to see the visiting Hawks rally with five tallies in the middle stanza and hold on for their triumph. Senior Brian Dudley and freshman Brendan O'Brien (one of six individuals featured in the February 20th edition of Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd") each netted a goal and an assist in the setback for Stonehill, which also received single tallies off the sticks of juniors Evan Spencer and Matt Pollara as well as assists from seniors Craig Pasquantonio and Brian Lewis, sophomore Anthony Zanetti and freshman James Florentino. Junior Josh Green made 37 saves in suffering just his third setback in 12 decisions in goal for the Skyhawks, who have won 10 of their last 13 contests entering the post-season.

Assumption enters tonight's action after dropping a 6-1 ECAC Northeast decision to Curry last Saturday evening at Max Ulin Rink in Milton, Mass.

Stonehill and Assumption are meeting for the third time this season this evening, as the Skyhawks have taken both decisions from the Ice Dogs to date, posting a come-from-behind 4-3 triumph back on December 10th at Buffone Rink in Worcester, Mass. before notching a 13-3 victory on February 4th here at the Bridgewater Ice Arena.

O'Brien leads Stonehill in scoring with 10 goals and 28 assists for 38 points to date, while Dudley follows with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points. Green is 9-3 between the Skyhawk pipes with a 2.68 GAA and a .916 saves percentage.

Sophomore Jim Trahon leads Assumption in scoring with 17 goals and 10 assists for 27 points, while senior Bobby Fanciullo follows with 10 goals and 15 assists for 25 points. Senior Sean O'Leary and freshman David Pinkham each have two wins in goal for the Ice Dogs.

The winner of tonight's Stonehill-Assumption quarterfinal round contest advances to the 2006 Northeast-10 semi-finals to take on second-seeded Saint Anselm on Wednesday evening (March 1st) at Sullivan Arena in Manchester, N.H. beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST.

For more information on this year's playoffs, log-on to www.northeast10.org...