Skyhawks to play in the NE-10 Championship for the third time in program history

Bryan Rooney netted the game-winner for Stonehill eventually sending the Skyhawks to the NE-10 Championship.

WORCESTER, Mass. (February 25, 2012) – Third-seeded Stonehill College jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against second-seeded Assumption College claiming a 3-1 victory in the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) Men's Ice Hockey Tournament semifinal round on Saturday night at Buffone Arena.

Stonehill (10-11-3, 6-3-2 NE-10) advances to its third NE-10 championship game in program history and will face first-seeded Saint Anselm College (13-8-5, 3-0-2 NE-10) on Saturday, March 3 on the road in Manchester, N.H. at 3 p.m. The Greyhounds season comes to a close at 13-11-1 overall and 7-3-1 in the NE-10.

All-Rookie Team honoree Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Mass.) pushed the Skyhawks out to a 1-0 lead midway through the first period at the 8:17 mark with his eighth goal of the season on feeds from senior captain Patrick Greene (Weymouth, Mass./Catholic Memorial) and freshman Oliver Williams (Centerport, N.Y.).

Sophomore forward Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./New Hampton School) increased Stonehill's advantage to 2-0 at 13:07 tallying an unassisted shorthanded goal, his eighth marker on the season.

In the second period, the Skyhawks penalty kill unit struck again as junior forward Sean McNeil (Canton, Mass./Canton) buried a pass from junior forward Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) behind Greyhounds netminder Bobby Bowden (Springfield, Mass./Williston-Northampton) for a 3-0 gap and his fifth goal of the season.

Stonehill senior goaltender Tyler Jackson (Little Silver, N.J./Christian Brothers Academy) held Assumption scoreless until the third period as sophomore forward Nick Mattielo (Johnston, R.I./Bishop Hendricken) finally put the Greyhounds on the board at the 10:10 mark on assists from sophomore forward Mike Heyde (Natick, Mass./Natick) and junior forward Ken Pia (Guilford, Conn./Xavier).

Jackson, who made 40 saves on the night including 19 in the third period, improved to 2-0-2 overall on the season. Bowden turned away 54 shots in the loss.

Stonehill is 1-1 overall in program history in the NE-10 championship game defeating Saint Anselm College, 2-1 in overtime, for its only title in the 2006-07 season. The Skyhawks fell in their most recent trip to the title game, 3-2, to Saint Michael's during the 2008-09 season.

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