Senior captain Bryan Rooney scored his ninth goal of the season tonight, tying a team-high. |
Skyhawks drop first overtime contest of 2013-14 after squandering 2-0 third period lead
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 13, 2014) – The Stonehill College ice hockey team led 2-0 early in the third period, but Western New England University scored three unanswered goals, including the overtime game-winner, as Stonehill dropped a 3-2 decision tonight in non-conference action at Smead Rink.
Senior captain Bryan Rooney (Canton, Mass./New Hampton School) and sophomore forward Anthony D'Elia (Stamford, Conn./Gunnery School) provided the offense tonight for Stonehill, as both players recorded goals.
Junior forward Brandon Stroud (Clarksville, Ind./New Jersey Hitmen) put the finishing touches on Western New England's comeback victory, as he scored with just 58 seconds remaining in the overtime session. Senior Brian Prost (Parma, Ohio/Springfield Blues) registered a three-point night with one goal and two assists, while classmate Chris Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y./Springfield Pics) tallied two points on one goal and one assist.
One game after making a career-high 52 saves, Golden Bears senior netminder Eric Sorenson (Fairport, N.Y./Syracuse Stars) was again impressive between the pipes, as he stopped 40 shots to make Western New England's comeback possible. On the other side of the ice, Stonehill sophomore goaltender Patrick Farrington (Sandwich, Mass./Bridgton Academy) was up to the task as well, as he sent away 38 of the 41 shots that he saw, including 14 in the third period.
D'Elia staked Stonehill to a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds after the opening face-off, the earliest the Skyhawks have scored all season. Junior Stephen Balsamo (Atkinson, N.H./Brewster Academy) and sophomore Kevin Airoldi (Kennebunk, Maine/Berwick Academy) each recorded assists on the game's opening score.
Stonehill then capitalized on a power play opportunity at the 5:53 mark of the middle period, when Rooney tallied his team-high tying ninth goal of the season, with the help of assists from sophomores Travis Army (Englewood, Colo./Worcester Academy) and Connor Fallon (Weymouth, Mass./South Shore Kings). The Skyhawks would carry their 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
Western New England wasted no time in mounting a third period comeback, as Connors beat Farrington with just 1:13 elapsed in the third to draw the Golden Bears to within one, at 2-1.
The home team then earned the equalizer with 4:13 remaining in the contest on Prost's team-best eighth goal of the season, which sent the contest into overtime. The Golden Bears would eventually prevail on Stroud's score with under a minute remaining.
Stonehill (6-9-0, 3-0-0 Northeast-10), which has now lost three consecutive games, will be back on the road Wednesday night for a non-conference tilt at Becker College, before returning to conference play next Monday night at Saint Michael's College. The Skyhawks will end their month and a half long absence from the Foxboro Sports Center when they host Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday, January 25th at 4:00 p.m. Western New England (9-6, 3-2-0 ECAC Northeast) will face Northeast-10 competition for the second consecutive night, as the Golden Bears are set to take on Assumption College tomorrow night in Worcester, Mass.
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