Last season's leading scorer, Matt Curran, scores twice in Stonehill's OT victory. |
Bridgewater, Mass. - Two goals from senior
Matt Curran (Scarborough, Maine) led to
Stonehill's first win for rookie head coach Garry Hebert. The
Skyhawks returned to their championship form of last season with
60-plus minutes of aggressive offense, smothering defense and two
timely goals.
The Skyhawks (1-3-1, 0-1 NE-10) have shown rapid improvement in the
past two games. Saturday night they took an undefeated
Nichols College team to the limit, losing a 7-5 shoot out on the
road. Tonight against the Fitchburg State Falcons (3-1-1) it
was a stellar defense and a familiar face who led the way for the
reigning conference champions.
An aggressive attack led to 14 shots on goal for the Stonehill offense in the first period alone. The two teams exchanged scoreless periods until the third when freshman Chris Riggs got the Falcons on the board. His goal was assisted by classmates Billy Pescosolido and John Goffredo.
With desperation setting in, Stonehill's character was tested.
Last season's leading scorer, forward Matt Curran rocketed
home a marker off a pass from Brendan O'Brien
(Braintree, Mass.). Sophomore Pete Roundy
(Simsbury, Conn.) also received an assist on the goal tying
goal.
An outstanding overtime effort from the Skyhawks showed that the
team was not willing to let another hard earned victory slip
through their fingers. Seconds into the extra frame Roundy
sent a potential game winning shot just wide of the net. With
over a minute remaining it was O'Brien to Curran again for a
one-timer score.
Fitchburg State's goaltender Devan McConnell registered 31 saves
as the Skyhawks outshot the Falcons 32-28. Freshman
Pete Lucchesi (Syracuse, N.Y.) held the previously
undefeated Falcons to one goal on 28 shots.
The Skyhawks hope to continue their winning ways next week when
they travel to take on Curry College. Stonehill will return
home next Thursday, November 29th, to play Johnson &
Wales. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 PM starts.