Captain Bryan Rooney kicked off his senior campaign with a hat trick in Stonehill's 7-3 win over Southern New Hampshire tonight.

Skyhawks outscore Penmen 6-1 after first period

MANCHESTER, N.H. (November 2, 2013) – The Stonehill College ice hockey team trailed 2-1 after the opening period, but exploded for six goals the rest of the way, as Stonehill opened its 2013 campaign with a 7-3 triumph tonight at Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 action.

Senior captain Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./New Hampton School) notched a third period hat trick to put Southern New Hampshire away, as Stonehill scored four times in the final stanza. Junior forward Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Mass./Walpole Express) tallied three assists, and Babson College transfer Kevin Airoldi (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy) contributed to the offensive outburst, scoring in his first game in a Stonehill uniform.

The Penmen opened up the contest with an early goal, as sophomore forward Joe Collins (Mansfield, Mass./Saint Michael's) scored just a minute and a half into the game. Classmate Jim Gabrione (Boca Raton, Fla./Tampa Bay Juniors) then doubled Southern New Hampshire's lead five minutes later, on assists from junior Steven Berry (Ashburn, Va./New Hampton School) and freshman Jay Sylvia (Acuchnet, Mass./South Shore Kings).

Stonehill's first tally of the season came midway through the first, when sophomore forward Dan Graham (Billerica, Mass./Williston Northampton) found the back of the net with the help of assistant captain Bill Carey (Weymouth, Mass./South Shore Kings). Southern New Hampshire led 2-1 heading into the first intermission.

The Skyhawks would score twice in the middle period, first by sophomore forward Nate Soter (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) at the 1:59 mark, and then sophomore defenseman Connor Fallon (Weymouth, Mass./South Shore Kings) added another over 15 minutes later. Stonehill led 3-2 after two periods, but the Skyhawks were not done offensively.

Rooney increased Stonehill's advantage to two, at 4-2, with his first score of the season on a power play goal one minute and forty seconds into the third period. Southern New Hampshire got one back four minutes later, as Collins found junior forward Dane Caracino (Belmont, Mass./New Hampton School), but that would be all the Penmen could muster offensively.

Stonehill freshman goaltender Joshua Hickey (Pittsburgh, Pa./Brewster Academy) earned the win in his first collegiate start, as he stopped 20 of the 23 shots that came his way. On the other side, Southern New Hampshire senior goalie Tyler Holske (Attleboro, Mass./South Shore Kings) made 35 saves in a losing effort.

Stonehill (1-0, 1-0 NE-10) returns to action on Tuesday night at Salve Regina University, before opening up its 2013 home slate on Thursday night against Plymouth State University at the Foxboro Sports Center. Southern New Hampshire (0-1, 0-1 NE-10) returns to the ice on Wednesday night at Framingham State University.

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