Heath dished out his fourth assist of the season. (Photo Credit Josh Boland).

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (February 2, 2024) – The Stonehill College men's ice hockey team dropped its first home game in the last 61 days to Long Island University, 3-1, Friday night. With the loss, the Skyhawks fall to 0-27 overall, while the Sharks improve to 11-16-1 on the season.

Highlights

• Graduate student Matthew Allen scored his third goal of the season off assists from junior classmates Kyle Heath and Jake Cady.
• Sophomore goaltender Dylan Meilun made his return in between the pipes for the Skyhawks where he posted 36 saves on the night.
• Sophomore Valtteri Piironen led the Sharks offense on the night with three points off a goal and two assists.
• Junior Chris Pappas dished out a pair of assists to help lead LIU to the 3-1 victory.
• First-year netminder Noah Rupprecht picked up his fifth win of the season in between the pipes for the Sharks after stopping 19 of his 20 shots faced.  

How it Happened

• Despite being outshot 13-5 throughout the first 20 minutes of action, Stonehill's defense held off the LIU offensive attack until late in the first period. 
• Piironen lit the lamp for the game's opening score on the power-play with just under five minutes left to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
• Freshman Anthony Galante nearly tied the game up at one apiece at the 7:05 mark of the second, sending a shot on goal from the slot. However, Rupprecht stuck his glove out just enough to redirect the shot wide and keep Stonehill off the board. 
• After Galante's excellent scoring chance, the Sharks would double their lead on the scoreboard after Parker found the back of the cage off assists from Piironen and sophomore AJ Casperson.
• LIU's two-goal lead would not last long as just 20 seconds after Parker found the back of the net, Allen lit the lamp after rifling a shot over Rupprecht's shoulder to cut the deficit in half heading into the break. 
• The Sharks capped off their scoring at the 12:27 mark of the third period when sophomore Josh Zary redirected a pass from Pappas on the far side of the Skyhawks goal for his team-leading 15th of the season. 
• Despite pulling the goalie late in regulation, Stonehill could not mount a comeback, eventually falling to LIU by a final score of 3-1. 

Up Next

Stonehill (0-27-0) close out its two-game weekend series against familiar opponent LIU tomorrow at 4 p.m. inside the Bridgewater Ice Arena.

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