Ice Hockey Standout O'Brien Becomes Second Stonehill Student-Athlete To Appear In Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" In Last Month Alone

February 14, 2006

Easton, Mass.-- For the second time in less than a month, a Stonehill College student-athlete will grace the pages of Sports Illustrated magazine.

Freshman ice hockey standout Brendan O'Brien is one of six individuals featured in the February 20th edition of Sports Illustrated in its "Faces In The Crowd" column, as he joins fellow freshman Kelsey Simonds in being honored with a spot in the magazine in the last three weeks alone. A native of Braintree, Mass. and a graduate of Deerfield Academy, O'Brien was honored by Sports Illustrated on being named as the Northeast-10 Conference Ice Hockey Freshman of the Week on seven occasions this season, as he leads Head Coach Scott Harlow's Skyhawks in scoring with nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points. O'Brien has notched 10 multiple-point performances in 20 collegiate outings, including a school-record tying four assists in his collegiate debut in a 5-4 victory at Saint Michael's. Stonehill, 13-7 overall on the season, has won 10 of its last 11 outings since December 10th, including a school-record nine-game winning streak.

Simonds, a six-time selection as Northeast-10 Women's Basketball Freshman of the Week this season, was honored with a selection to "Faces In The Crowd" in the January 23rd edition of Sports Illustrated, as she has helped lead Head Coach Trisha Brown's Skyhawks to a 21-3 record and the top-ranked in NCAA Northeast Regional play as Stonehill's second leading scorer and its top rebounder.

Five Stonehill student-athletes have now been featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces In The Crowd" since May 2003, as women's lacrosse standouts Katie Lambert '03 and Lauren Stone '06, in addition to ice hockey standout Rob Pascale '04, have also been honored. Lambert was the first-ever Stonehill student-athlete to be featured in "Faces In The Crowd" in the June 16, 2003 issue in recognition of her NCAA Division II goal scoring record as well as leading the Skyhawks to their first NCAA Division II national championship in May 2003. Pascale, the 2003-2004 Northeast-10 Conference of the Year, was featured in the December 28, 2003 edition of the magazine for his accomplishments in setting the Stonehill career records for goals, assists and points in being named as the ECAC Northeast Player of the Week three times in a four week span. Stone was honored by Sports Illustrated in the May 16, 2005 issue after setting a school single-season record for most wins by a goalie and for being named as the Northeast-10 Goalkeeper of the Week eight times in nine weeks on the season, as she helped lead the Skyhawks to their second NCAA national crown as well as a perfect 21-0 campaign.

O'Brien appears in this week's edition of Sports Illustrated that features United States Olympic halfpipe gold medal winner Shaun White on the cover. To view Brendan's achievement in this week's edition on-line, log-on to www.si.com/faces for a "sneak peek" at Faces In The Crowd for February 20th.