Stonehill Falls To Johnson & Wales, 3-2, In Season Opener

Tasiopoulos makes 34 saves in net for the Skyhawks

Christopher Gorovitz scored Stonehill's
first goal of the 2011-12 season.

FOXBORO, Mass. (November 2, 2011) – Johnson & Wales University handed the Stonehill College men's ice hockey team a 3-2 loss in its season opener on Tuesday night in non-conference action at the Foxboro Sports Center.

Stonehill (0-1, 0-0 NE-10), who had won its two previous season openers, received goals from junior forward Christopher Gorovitz (Framingham, Mass./Tilton School) and sophomore forward Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./New Hampton School). Junior forward Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) and senior forward Patrick Greene (Weymouth, Mass./Catholic Memorial) also added assists.

Gorovitz opened up the scoring at 4:40 of the first period corralling a loose puck just outside the Johnson & Wales blueline, gaining entrance into the offensive zone and burying a shot through the five-hole of Wildcats goaltender Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, Ohio) for a 1-0 advantage.

Johnson & Wales evened the contest at 1-1 at the 9:14 mark on the power play as junior defenseman Trevor Jewell (Belgrade, Mont.) blasted a one-timer off the glove of Skyhawks goaltender Chris Tasiopoulos (Norwell, Mass./Thayer Academy) into the back of net for his first goal of the season. Senior defenseman Domenic Recchia (Sterling Heights, Mich.) initiated the tally making a cross ice pass to Jewell from the right side of the blueline.

Stonehill reclaimed the lead in the second stanza on the power play as Rooney ripped a shot past Cooper in front of the crease at 6:57 on feeds from Borges and Greene.

The Wildcats scored two unanswered goals late in the second period and Cooper held on in net making 12 saves in the third period for the victory.

Senior forward Jeremiah Ketts (Foirstell, Mo.) tied up the game at 15:06 firing a shot off of a Stonehill defender, gaining possesion of the puck and whistling a shot into the top right corner of the net behind Tasiopoulos for a 2-2 score.

A costly turnover in the neutral zone for the Skyhawks gave Justin Decowski (Hamilton, N.J.) a breakaway opportunity and the sophomore forward delivered sniping a shot through Tasiopoulos' five-hole for a 3-2 advantage and the eventual win.

Cooper stopped 28 shots in net for Johnson & Wales (1-0, 0-0 ECAC) while Tasiopoulos made 34 saves including a game-high 17 in the second period.

Stonehill returns to action on Friday, November 4 against Becker College in the first game of the Becker College Ice Breaker Tournament at 6 p.m.

Postgame Interview with head coach Patrick Leahy

 

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