#5 Stonehill Falls 5-2 at #4 Assumption in NE-10 First Round

Skyhawks rally to tie it in third period, but Greyhounds pull away to advance

 
Bryan Rooney got the Skyhawks back in it with an early third-period goal. (PHOTO BY Ian Thomas)

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 26, 2011) – Fifth-seeded Stonehill College fell 5-2 to fourth seed Assumption College in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday evening.

The defeat brings the Skyhawks’ season to a close, and Assumption will advance to face second-seeded Saint Anselm College on Wednesday in Manchester.

Junior Patrick Greene (Weymouth, Mass./Catholic Memorial) and freshman Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./Canton) each scored for Stonehill. The Greyhounds got two goals apiece from juniors Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mass.), who finished with a game-high four points, and Kevin Glanzman (Massapequa, N.Y.) and a goal from freshman Nick Mattiello (Johnston, R.I.)

Greene gave the Skyhawks an early lead at 5:23 of the first period, pushing a shot through traffic with an assist from senior Angelo Todesca (Westwood, Mass./Catholic Memorial) on Stonehill’s first power play of the night. Glanzman equalized for Assumption seconds before the end of the period, netting a shot from the left point to the glove side of senior goaltender Derek Chapdelaine (Granby, Mass./Springfield Cathedral) to send the game into the first intermission locked at 1-1.

The Skyhawks came out swinging in the second period, dominating possession of the puck and outshooting the Greyhounds 11-5 over the middle 20 minutes, but junior Nick Blanchette (Stuart, Fla.) proved up to the challenge in net, holding off the Stonehill offense to give Assumption a chance to pull ahead at the other end. Larsen scored his first of the evening on the power play at 10:34, giving the Greyhounds the lead on an economical five shots on target during the period.

Rooney delivered the game-tying goal just over a minute into the third period, set up by sophomores Chris Gorovitz (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass./Coyle Cassidy), to tip the momentum back toward the Skyhawks with 19 minutes to play. The tie was short-lived, though, as Mattiello knocked in an unassisted goal within the next minute, and Larsen scored a second time to widen the gap to 4-2 at 3:23. The Greyhounds killed off their final two penalties of the night to close down key scoring opportunities for Stonehill, and Glanzman put away an insurance goal from the top of the slot at 12:48 for the final 5-2 margin.

Stonehill concludes the season at 5-18-1 overall, 3-6-1 in the NE-10.