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Matt Curran's 12th goal gave Stonehill the 5-4 OT victory. |
Skyhawks Win Playoff Thriller, 5-4 OT
Bridgewater, Mass. - A game-winning goal from
senior Matt Curran (Scarborough, Maine/North
Yarmouth) 32 seconds into overtime put the reigning Northeast-10
Conference Champions past the Franklin Pierce Ravens (6-19-0, 3-2
NE-10), 5-4. The Skyhawks (12-10-2, 3-2 NE-10) received help
from James Florentino (West Roxbury,
Mass./Xaverian), Chase Feole (Windham, N.H./Salem)
and Brian
Davis (Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro), who each scored in the
Conference's opening round of the playoffs.
A scoreless tie was broken in the second period when Florentino,
last season's tournament MVP, nailed home his fourth goal of the
year. Franklin Pierce's Mark Malcolm and Shane Murphy each
registered their first markers to give the Ravens an early 2-1
lead.
The Ravens' advantage was short lived, however, as Florentino capped the second period scoring spree with a power-play goal minutes later. The teams entered the break in a 2-2 deadlock.
Feole's fourth marker put the Skyhawks up once again. Davis would score after Franklin Pierce's Peter Wilson added a marker of his own.
With the score 4-3 in Stonehill's favor, the Ravens pulled goaltender Jon Tuttle with over a minute remaining. The man advantage led to Jeff Kasper's eighth goal from a face off won in Stonehill's zone. Kasper's goal forced overtime.
Curran went to work from there. Only 32 seconds into the
period, the Skyhawk senior captain ended Franklin Pierce's season
with a top-shelf wrist shot.
Goaltender Justin Zegel (Ridgewood,
N.J./Ridgewood) registered 20 saves in his first postseason
game.
The Skyhawks advance to Northeast-10 Conference Semi-Finals on Wednesday. Their opponent is yet to be determined, however, because the Skyhawks are the Conference's fourth seed the game will either be at Saint Anselm or at Saint Michael's.