Stonehill Captain Comes Through in the Clutch
Springfield, Mass. – Junior captain Brendan O’Brien (Braintree, Mass.) scored the game-winner on a power play goal at 5:48 of the third period as the visiting Stonehill Skyhawks held on for a 4-3 victory over the Western New England College Golden Bears at Smead Arena, Thursday night. The win improves the Skyhawks to 6-6-1 (1-1 in the Northeast-10). The impressive victory is their fourth win in their last five games.
Freshman goaltender Mike Manna (Framingham, Mass.) improved his personal record to 4-1-1 after finishing with 33 saves. Manna registered 15 saves in the final period to preserve a slim one-goal lead.
Two early goals in the first period set the tone for a dominating game in which Stonehill never trailed. Matt Curran (Scarborough, Maine) and Frank Amato (West Springfield, Mass.) both found the back of the net early to spot the visiting team a 2-0 advantage after one stanza.
After a goal from senior Anthony Zanetti (Ludlow, Mass.), Western New England followed with two power play goals, bringing the Golden Bears within one.
O’Brien double faked Western New England's rookie goaltender and fired home the game winning score just minutes into the final period. Brendan delivered his winning shot with assists from Curran and Amato.
Western New England College (4-13-2, 2-6-2 ECAC Northeast) pulled within a goal when freshman forward Kyle Daly tallied at the 15:05 mark, but a smothering Stonehill defense, led by junior James Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.), denied the Golden Bears time-and-time again.
Curran finished with a goal and two assists while O’Brien, Amato, and Zanetti each had a goal and assist. For Western England, junior Mike Majesty led the Golden Bears with a goal and an assist. Freshman goalie Justin Richards stopped 26 shots while dropping his first contest (4-1-1) in six outings.
The Golden Bears were riding a five-game unbeaten streak prior to the Skyhawks’ visit to Smead Arena. Stonehill will look to keep it rolling heading into Saturday’s return match up with Suffolk. Game-time is 1:40 p.m.