Senior captain Travis Army registered a team high eight shots on goal in tonight's defeat.

Skyhawks earn top seed in upcoming NE-10 Tournament despite 1-0 set-back at Southern New Hampshire University

MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 13, 2016) – The Stonehill College ice hockey team clinched its third consecutive Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship despite tonight's 1-0 set-back at Southern New Hampshire University at the Ice Den.

Even with tonight's loss, Stonehill secures the top seed and home ice advantage throughout the NE-10 Tournament. The Skyhawks finish the regular season with nine points, one more than second seeded Saint Anselm College, and will host Assumption College in next weekend's semifinal round.

Southern New Hampshire got on the board 6:29 into the second period when junior forward Jay Sylvia (Acushnet, Massachusetts/South Shore Kings) took advantage of sophomore defenseman Connor Tedesco's (Winchester, Massachusetts/Proctor Academy) hooking penalty and scored with the man advantage. That was all the Penmen needed as sophomore goaltender Ryan Slatsky (Manchester, New Hampshire/Bridgton Academy) slammed the door shut on any Stonehill attack, stopping all 53 shots that came his way in a dominating performance.

Stonehill outshot Southern New Hampshire 53-29 but couldn't find the back of the net despite controlling the game. The major key to the Penmen halting a three year unbeaten run in regular season NE-10 games by the Skyhawks was in the power play. The Skyhawks were held to a 0-7 showing while the host was able to capitalize on one of its own, finishing 1-2 and packing in the defense to try and limit the Stonehill scoring opportunities.

Freshman netminder William Palmer (Cranston, Rhode Island/Boston Bandits) stopped 28 of a possible 29 shots, including 13 in the first period, while Slatsky stopped all 53 shots to earn his second career shutout.

Stonehill (12-9-4, 7-1-2 NE-10) will be back in action on Saturday night, when Assumption College visits the Foxboro Sports Center for an NE-10 Tournament semifinal contest. Opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m.  

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