Freshman defenseman Brendan White scored his first two collegiate goals in the third period to help Stonehill rally from a four-goal deficit and earn a 4-4 tie with Western New England tonight. |
Skyhawks force overtime with three third period goals, including two over the final 2:55
FOXBORO, Mass. (January 21, 2015) – The Stonehill College ice hockey team scored four unanswered goals, including three in the third period and two over the final 2:55 of regulation, to force overtime in an eventual 4-4 tie with visiting Western New England University this evening in non-conference action at the Foxboro Sports Center.
Freshman defenseman Brendan White (North Reading, Massachusetts/Kimball Union Academy) led the comeback effort with the first two goals of his collegiate career, both of which came in the third period.
Junior forward Anthony D'Elia (Stamford, Connecticut/Gunnery School) tallied three points on a goal and two assists, netting the equalizer with 1:12 remaining in regulation, while classmate Robbie Dorgan (Ossining, New York/Boston Bulldogs) also posted a multi-point effort with a goal and an assist. Senior Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Massachusetts/Boston Bulldogs) and juniors Garrett White (Wakefield, Massachusetts/Boston Bulldogs) and Dan Graham (Billerica, Massachusetts/Williston Northampton) chipped in with one assist each.
Making his first appearance of the season in net, junior goaltender Patrick Farrington (Sandwich, Massachusetts/Bridgton Academy) stopped 18 shots in 34:24 between the pipes after coming on in relief of senior Chris Tasiopoulos (Norwell, Massachusetts/Thayer Academy).
Western New England was able to build up a four-goal advantage largely due to the efforts of senior forward Brandon Stroud (Clarksville, Indiana/New Jersey Hitmen), who found the back of the net twice and added an assist. Classmate Nick Diorio (Newington, Connecticut/Springfield Pics) and freshman defenseman Matthieu Audet (Campbell, California/Minnesota Iron Rangers) also scored for the Golden Bears.
Senior goaltender Tim Carr (Pine Bush, New York/New Hampshire Monarchs) made a game-high 39 saves in net, keeping the Skyhawks off the board for the opening 39 minutes of play before they mounted their comeback rally.
Western New England opened the scoring exactly two minutes into the first period, when Diorio scored his first of the season with the help of sophomore Josh Twietmeyer (Everett, Washington/West Sound Warriors) and senior Joe Budnick (Newington, Connecticut/UConn).
The Golden Bears would carry their lead into the first intermission, before doubling it just 2:23 into the second period when Stroud found the top corner of the net with a turnaround wrist shot from the top of the right circle.
Junior Anthony D'Elia recorded three points on a goal and two assists. |
Stroud struck for Western New England again, this time on the power play at the 6:12 mark, before connecting with Audet 3:41 later on a goal that would put the Golden Bears up 4-0 and end Tasiopoulos' evening.
Stonehill finally broke through late in the period, as D'Elia set up Dorgan for his fifth goal of the season with just 27 seconds remaining before the second intermission. Despite being outscored 3-1 in the second period, the Skyhawks outshot the Golden Bears by a 14-10 margin.
Stonehill drew to within two goals at the 1:41 mark of the third period, as White netted his first collegiate goal on a blast from the blue line that deflected off a Western New England defenseman. Still trailing 4-2 later in the period, White found the back of the net with another slap shot from the point with 2:55 remaining in regulation.
One minute later, Stonehill pulled Farrington in favor of an extra attacker, and the move paid off with D'Elia capping the four-goal rally on a feed from Graham with just 1:12 on the clock. Junior forward Kevin Airoldi (Kennebunk, Maine/Boston Jr. Rangers) nearly won the game for the Skyhawks in the closing seconds, but Carr stood tall, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams had opportunities to emerge with a victory in the extra session, as Stonehill put five shots on goal and Western New England had four, but the contest would end knotted up 4-4.
Stonehill (8-4-3, 3-0-1 Northeast-10 Conference) will be back in action on Saturday night, when the Skyhawks head to Southern New Hampshire University for their first NE-10 contest since December 2nd. Western New England (1-11-3, 1-4-0 ECAC Northeast) will return home to Springfield to host Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon.
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