Ninteau Nets Game Winner As Part Of Four Goal Third Period Rally That Propels Ice Hockey To Sixth Straight Victory And Bye In Upcoming Playoffs With 4-2 Northeast-10 Triumph Over Saint Michael's
February 20, 2007
STONEHILL ICE HOCKEY
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bridgewater Ice Arena, Bridgewater, Mass.
FINAL: STONEHILL 4, SAINT MICHAEL'S 2
1 2 3 Total
Saint Michael's (6-19, 3-2 Northeast-10) 1 0 1 - 2
Stonehill (12-10-1, 3-0-1 Northeast-10) 0 0 4 - 4
SCORING SUMMARY
SMC: Ryan Mero (Jared Silver, David Vorozilchak) PPG 19:58 1st
STO: Matt Curran (Brendan O'Brien, James Florentino) PPG 1:14 3rd
SMC: Tim Dancey (Derek Girouard, Dan Anctil) 4:23 3rd
STO: O'Brien (John Durkin, Chase Feole) 10:13 3rd
STO: Billy Ninteau (Unassisted) 14:57 3rd
STO: Paul Reissfelder (Brian Davis) 15:22 3rd
GOALIE SAVES
SMC: Erik Smith-32
STO: Josh Green-31
BRIDGEWATER, Mass.- Sophomore Billy Ninteau's (Litchfield, N.H.) goal with 5:03 remaining snapped a 2-2 tie as Stonehill overcame a pair of one-goal deficits with four third period tallies to notch a 4-2 Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey victory over Saint Michael's Tuesday evening at the Bridgewater Ice Arena.
The host Skyhawks (12-10-1, 3-0-1 Northeast-10), who clinched their first bye ever into the conference semi-finals next Wednesday evening, trailed 1-0 heading into the final period of action, as sophomore Ryan Mero's (Peekskill, N.Y.) power play goal with two seconds to play in the opening stanza staked the visiting Purple Knights (6-19, 3-2 Northeast-10) to the 1-0 edge after 20 minutes of play. The two teams played a scoreless middle period before junior Matt Curran's (Scarborough, Maine) power play goal 1:14 into the final stanza lifted Stonehill to a 1-1 tie, but junior Tim Dancey (Anaheim, Calif.) gave Saint Michael's a 2-1 cushion just 3:09 later when he scored at the 4:23 mark. Sophomore Brendan O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.) evened matters once again just over the midway point of the period for the Skyhawks, and Ninteau's unassisted tally proved to be the game-winner for Stonehill, which received an insurance marker off the stick of sophomore Paul Reissfelder (Plymouth, Mass.) just 25 seconds later to close out the scoring.
O'Brien finished with a goal and an assist in the win for the Skyhawks, who have now won six straight and are unbeaten in their last eight (7-0-1) overall, as the hosts also received single helpers off the sticks of juniors John Durkin (Scituate, Mass.), Chase Feole (Windham, N.H.) and Brian Davis (Foxboro, Mass.) along with sophomore James Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.). Seniors Jared Silver (Montreal, Que.) and Derek Girouard (Methuen, Mass.), along with junior Dan Anctil (Rochester, N.H.) and freshman David Vorozilchak (Summit, Pa.), collected assists in the setback for the Purple Knights.
Senior Josh Green (Mendon, Mass.) improved to 7-2-1 on the season in goal for Stonehill with a 31-save effort on the evening, while senior Erik Smith (Warwick, R.I.) made 32 stops in net for Saint Michael's as the Skyhawks outshot the Purple Knights by a 36-33 margin for the contest.
Stonehill can claim its first-ever Northeast-10 regular season championship on Thursday evening when the Skyhawks travel to Manchester, N.H. to take on second place Saint Anselm in the regular season finale for both squads at Sullivan Arena beginning at 7:00 p.m. Saint Michael's will be seeded third in the upcoming Northeast-10 tournament and will host sixth-seeded Assumption in a quarterfinal round contest on Saturday afternoon at Cairns Arena in South Burlington, Vt. beginning at 3:00 p.m.