Greyhounds use 69 saves by Bowden to earn win, stay undefeated in NE-10 play

Freshman forward Kevin Aufiero scored his team-leading second short-handed goal of the season for Stonehill.

WORCESTER, Mass. (January 25, 2012) – The Stonehill College men's ice hockey team was stymied by Assumption College, 3-2, in Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) action on Wednesday night at Buffone Arena.

Sophomore and reigning NE-10 Goaltender of the Week Bobby Bowden (Springfield, Mass./Williston Northampton School) made a school record 69 saves including a game-high 29 stops in the first period to lead the Greyhounds and push their record in NE-10 competition to 4-0-1. Bowden broke a 40-year-old school record set by Larry Thomas who recorded 68 saves against Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1972.

Stonehill received goals from freshman forward Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Mass./) and sophomore forward Garrett Lessard (East Sandwich, Mass./Williston Northampton School). Assumption senior forward Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mass./Worcester Academy) netted one goal and dished out one assist to pace the offense while junior forward Joe Fimiani (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) and sophomore forward Kyle Zobler (Millbury, Mass./New Hampton) also potted markers.

Aufiero put the visitors up early in the contest at 3:43 of the first period with his team-leading seventh goal and squad-best second short-handed tally of the season (unassisted).

Assumption responded midway through the second stanza with two unanswered goals just 33 seconds apart to take a 2-1 advantage before the break. Larsen finished on a Mike Janson (Ridgewood, N.J./Bergen Catholic) feed at 11:55 for his ninth goal of the season and team-leading fourth power play marker while Fimiani found the back of the net with an unassisted score at 12:28.

In the third period, Zobler punched home his first-career game-winning goal at 7:14 on assists from Larsen and senior forward Pat O'Kane (Hollis, N.H./Bishop Guertin) for a 3-1 gap.

At 9:53, Lessard buried his second goal of the season on the power play off of a nice set up from teammate and freshman defenseman Brendan Greene (Weymouth, Mass.) but Stonehill's rally fell short as Bowden secured the victory for the Greyhounds making 23 saves on 24 shots in the stanza. Tasiopoulos made 28 saves in the loss for the Skyhawks.

Stonehill (5-8-2, 2-2-1 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University this Saturday at the Foxboro Sports Center in a NE-10 matchup at 2:00 p.m. Assumption (9-7-1, 4-0-1 NE-10) travels to Franklin Pierce University on Saturday for a conference tilt starting at 7:30 p.m.

- www.stonehillskyhawks.com -