Skyhawks streak reaches seven, the second longest run in program history
Senior captain Bryan Rooney tallied three points tonight to help Stonehill top Franklin Pierce, 4-2. |
FOXBORO, Mass. (February 6, 2014) – Senior captain Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./New Hampton School) tallied three points on two goals and one assist as the Stonehill College ice hockey team skated to a 4-2 victory tonight over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 action at the Foxboro Sports Center. With the win, Stonehill improves to 8-0 in conference play and extends its winning streak to seven games, the second longest run in program history.
Rooney had a hand in three of Stonehill's four scores this evening, while junior forward Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Mass./Walpole Express) and sophomore defenseman Travis Army (Englewood, Colo./Worcester Academy) each found the back of the net as well. Army also added an assist, as did sophomores Thomas DePoalo (Mendham, N.J./Morristown Beard School), Connor Fallon (Weymouth, Mass./South Shore Kings), and Garrett White (Wakefield, Mass./Pomfret School), and junior defenseman Brendan Greene (Weymouth, Mass./Boston Advantage).
Junior goaltender Chris Tasiopoulos (Norwell, Mass./Thayer Academy) turned aside 22 of the 24 shots that came his way, picking up his 11th win of the season in the process. Tasiopoulos came into tonight's action ranked first in the NE-10 with a .931 save percentage and second with a 2.26 goals against average.
Franklin Pierce's offense was powered by senior forward Roman Malyshev (Moscow, Russia/Hudson Valley CC) and freshman forward Brett Oldaker (Canonsburg, Pa./Connecticut Oilers), who provided one goal apiece. Senior goaltender Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass./Northern Cyclones) made 32 saves in the loss.
Sophomore Travis Army posted a multi-point effort tonight as well. |
Stonehill jumped ahead just 3:16 into the first period on Army's fourth goal of the season, and doubled its lead 11 minutes later when Rooney scored his team-leading 11th goal on a power play opportunity.
Franklin Pierce responded 6:15 into the second period, when Malyshev took the puck the length of the ice, cut between two Stonehill defenders and beat Tasiopoulos to make the score 2-1. Stonehill then upped its lead back to two, at 3-1, when Aufiero scored with the help of Rooney at the 13:38 mark of the middle period. Stonehill would carry its two-goal advantage into the third.
Rooney gave the Skyhawks a three-score cushion with his second goal of the night midway through the third period, as he tipped a puck past O'Brien off a shot from White. The Ravens would get one goal back, as Oldaker scored on a Franklin Pierce power play with five minutes remaining in the contest, but that would wrap up the scoring for the visiting team.
Stonehill (13-9-0, 8-0-0) will travel to Manchester, N.H. on Saturday night looking to push its winning streak to eight games, as the Skyhawks are set to take on Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 action. Stonehill has already defeated the Penmen twice this season, in the season-opener on November 2nd, and again on January 25th. Franklin Pierce (4-15-2, 2-7-1 NE-10) will hit the road for a pair of contests at SUNY Canton next weekend.
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