| LaRusso dished out his first collegiate assist on Schwenninger's fourth goal of the season. (Photo Credit Mary Gettens). |
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (February 24, 2024) – The Stonehill College men's ice hockey team fell to Long Island University, 4-2, on the road Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Skyhawks drop to 2-30 overall, while the Sharks improve to 16-18-1 on the year.
Highlights
- Sophomore Frank Ireland led the Skyhawks on the day with two points off a goal and an assist.
- Sophomore Dean Schwenninger added his fourth goal of the season, while freshman Jake LaRusso and junior Henri Schreifels recorded assists for Stonehill.
- Sophomore netminder Dylan Meilun tallied 25 saves in between the pipes for the Skyhawks.
- Three multi-point sophomore scorers led LIU in Valtteri Piironen, Cade Mason, and Austin Brimmer.
- Senior Zachary Nazzarett, sophomore Josh Zary, and senior Jack Quinn each added goals of their own for the Sharks.
- Postgrad goaltender Brandon Perrone picked up the win after stopping eight of his ten shots faced in the crease for LIU.
How it Happened
- After a scoreless opening half of the first period, LIU and Stonehill would go back and forth, trading goals over the next 10 minutes of play in the opening frame.
- Brimmer kicked off the scoring at the 12:43 mark of the first before Schwenninger would respond less than three minutes later with a lamp lighter of his own, tying the game at one apiece.
- However, team-leader in scoring, Zary would capitalize on the power-play sending a shot past Meilun in net and into the back of the cage at the 18:15 mark to give LIU a 2-1 lead heading into the break.
- Stonehill's defense would step up and keep LIU scoreless throughout the second period of play despite being outshot by a narrow 8-6 margin.
- While the defense stifled the Sharks offense, Ireland would reward his team's efforts on the other end of the ice, netting his team-leading ninth goal of the year on the power-play to tie the game up at 2-2 at the 6:19 mark of the second.
- Despite both sides playing to an even 2-2 draw through 40 minutes of action, LIU would come out of the gates strong on both ends of the ice in the third, scoring a pair of goals while only allowing Stonehill one shot on goal through the final frame of regulation.
- Netting what would prove to be the game-winning goal for the Sharks at the 12:07 mark of the third was Nazzarett off assists from graduate student Grayson Constable and Piironen.
- Quinn would cap off the scoring with his second of the season in the waning minutes of the third to seal LIU's 4-2 victory.
Up Next
Stonehill (2-30-0) travels out to Anchorage for a two-week Alaskan road trip, kicking it off with a two-game set against the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage on Friday, March 1. Puck drop between the Skyhawks and Seawolves is set for 11:07 p.m. EST.
For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Fans can also download the Stonehill Skyhawks "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.
