Curran, Florentino Net Goals, Gorman Makes 27 Saves Between Pipes As Ice Hockey Sees Six Game Win Streak Come To End And Finishes As Northeast-10 Regular Season Runner-Up With 5-2 League Setback At Saint Anselm
February 22, 2007
STONEHILL ICE HOCKEY
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Sullivan Arena, Manchester, N.H.
FINAL: SAINT ANSELM 5, STONEHILL 2
1 2 3 Total
Stonehill (12-11-1, 3-1-1 Northeast-10) 0 2 0 - 2
Saint Anselm (11-11-3, 4-1 Northeast-10) 2 1 2 - 5
SCORING SUMMARY
STA: Pat Forshner (Colin Fitzpatrick, Shane Masotta) 11:09 1st
STA: Mike Foley (Forshner) PPG 19:02 1st
STA: Colin Fitzpatrick (Forshner, Masotta) 10:25 2nd
STO: Matt Curran (Unassisted) SHG 11:39 2nd
STO: James Florentino (Brendan O'Brien, Curran) PPG 12:33 2nd
STA: Chris MacPhee (Seth Goodrich, Joe Fernald) 3:48 3rd
STA: Derek Evjenth (Nick Sacca, Mike Curtis) ENG 19:34 3rd
GOALIE SAVES
STO: Matt Gorman-27
STA: Jason Zuck-22
MANCHESTER, N.H.-- Junior Pat Forshner (Natick, Mass.) netted a goal and two assists as Saint Anselm captured the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey regular season championship with a 5-2 league victory over Stonehill Thursday evening at Sullivan Arena.
The host Hawks (11-11-3, 4-1 Northeast-10) jumped out to a 2-0 first period advantage on markers off the sticks of Forshner and junior Mike Foley (Medford, Mass.), the latter coming on a power play, and junior Colin Fitzpatrick's (Westwood, Mass.) tally midway through the middle stanza extended Saint Anselm's edge to 3-0. Junior Matt Curran's (Scarborough, Maine) league-leading 25th goal of the season, a shorthanded tally at the 11:39 mark of the second period, got the visiting Skyhawks (12-11-1, 3-1-1 Northeast-10) on the board, and sophomore James Florentino's (West Roxbury, Mass.) power play marker just 54 seconds later enabled Stonehill to slice its deficit to 3-2 after 40 minutes of action. Freshman Chris MacPhee (Windham, N.H.) gave the Hawks a 4-2 lead just 3:48 into the final period, and Saint Anselm iced its triumph with an empty net goal off the stick of senior Derek Evjenth (Saratoga, Calif.) with 26 seconds remaining to take the regular season crown.
Junior Shane Masotta (Woburn, Mass.) added a pair of assists in the win for the Hawks, while Fitzpatrick joined Forshner with a goal and an assist on the night for Saint Anselm, who also received single helpers off the sticks of seniors Nick Sacca (Arlington, Mass.) and Mike Curtis (Hanover, Mass.), sophomore Joe Fernald (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Seth Goodrich (Salisbury, Vt.). Curran finished with a goal and an assist in the setback for Stonehill, which also received an assist from sophomore Brendan O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.).
Freshman Jason Zuck (Clifton, N.J.) picked up the win in goal for Saint Anselm with a 22-save effort, while senior Matt Gorman (Southboro, Mass.) made 27 stops in net for Stonehill as the Hawks outshot the Skyhawks by a 32-24 margin for the contest. The setback ended Stonehill's six-game winning streak and eight-game unbeaten skein (7-0-1) that dated back to January 31st.
Both teams earned the two top seeds in next week's Northeast-10 playoffs, as Stonehill will be the second seed and will host the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal round contest between third-seeded Saint Michael's and sixth-seeded Assumption next Wednesday evening in semi-final round play at the Bridgewater Ice Arena beginning at 7:20 p.m. Saint Anselm will be the top seed in the tournament and will await the winner of Saturday's other quarterfinal round match-up between fourth-seeded Southern New Hampshire and fifth-seeded Franklin Pierce in the other semi-final game to be played next Wednesday evening at Sullivan Arena.