Taunton, Mass. native inks deal with French Second Division squad

EASTON, Mass. (June 6, 2012) – Recent graduate Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass./Coyle & Cassidy) of the Stonehill College ice hockey team signed a contract with the Evry Peaux Rouges of the French ice hockey second division earlier this week.

"I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to play professional hockey," said Borges of signing with the Peaux Rouges.

Borges who graduated over the weekend with a 3.75 cumulative grade point average, finished his prolific Stonehill career with 87 points on 29 goals and 58 assists. Borges led the Northeast-10 Conference in scoring with 37 points during his senior season. The Skyhawks' captain also led the league in assists (22), power-play scoring (17), power-play goals (7), and power-play assists (10), while finishing eighth nationally in Division II and III for scoring and 13th in assists and power play goals.

"Playing at the professional level has been something I have strived for since I was a kid." Borges continued, "I would like to thank Stonehill for helping me get to this level and Evry for giving me the chance to take my game to the next level."

Borges, who was recently named the Northeast-10 Conference Man of The Year, was named to the All-Conference First Team during the season. As a freshman, Borges was honored by the league with NE-10 All-Rookie honors. Earlier this season the captain earned NE-10 Player of the Week following a two goal, one assist performance in a 4-3 win over Franklin Pierce on January 19th.

"Dana had the thought in his mind all season long that he wanted to go overseas next year," said Stonehill hockey coach Patrick Leahy. "We talked about it a lot and he knew that he had to produce and have a solid statistical season this year for it to be possible. The league and the level that he will be playing in next season fits his style of play."

"While, Dana had options outside of playing hockey next year he wanted to experience pro hockey in a foreign country and I feel that this is a great decision for him," Leahy continued. "Stonehill Hockey wishes him the best."

The Skyhawks finished their season with an 11-15-0 record overall, including a 6-5-0 mark in the Northeast-10 to finish fourth in the Conference standings and earn its 14th-straight tournament appearance.

The Evry Peaux Rouges play in the second division of the Federation Françoise de Hockey sur Glace "French Federation of Ice Hockey" (FFHG). The league consists of 18 teams split between two divisions. The league plays its regular season from the end of September until the middle of February and then begins the playoff stretch from February through the end of April. At the end of the regular season, the top-eight teams from each division advance to the playoffs. This season the Peaux Rouges finished third in its division and advanced to the league quarterfinals before being eliminated by Paris.

"We are very pleased to welcome Dana," said Evry Peaux Rouges' Vice President of Player Operations: Sylvain Devaux. "He has performed extremely well the last season and on top of that he has shown the ability to be successful as well in his others activities. We expect his leadership to be a great help on and off the ice. It's a new challenge for him to perform in a foreign country but we are confident that he can achieve this goal in an ambitious team."

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter and Facebook. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks mobile app on iTunes and the Android Market.