Aufiero |
Palella |
Aufiero, Palella led Skyhawks to wins over Southern New Hampshire and Franklin Pierce last week
EASTON, Mass. (November 25, 2014) – Stonehill College senior forward Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Massachusetts/Walpole Express) and junior goaltender Matt Palella (Chicago, Illinois/Loyola Academy) have been recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference with weekly ice hockey honors, the league office announced today.
Aufiero and Palella earned Player and Goaltender of the Week accolades, respectively, as Stonehill went 2-0 last week with conference victories over Southern New Hampshire University and Franklin Pierce University at the Foxboro Sports Center.
Senior Kevin Aufiero earns the first NE-10 Player of the Week honor of his career after recording four points on three goals and an assist as Stonehill went 2-0 last week. |
Aufiero collects the first NE-10 Player of the Week honor of his career after leading a Stonehill offense that scored 11 times over two contests with four points on three goals (including two game-winners) and an assist. Aufiero opened his week on Tuesday with a goal 7:22 into the second period against Southern New Hampshire that would stand as the game-winner in Stonehill's 6-3 victory over the Penmen.
The Canton, Massachusetts native then added his third and fourth goals of the season to go with an assist as the Skyhawks defeated Franklin Pierce, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon. Both of his tallies came in the third period, with the first giving Stonehill a 3-1 lead that it would not relinquish. Through six games this season, Aufiero leads the Skyhawks and is tied for fourth in the NE-10 with six points on four goals and two assists. In 83 career games, the senior forward has registered 30 goals and 35 assists for a total of 65 points.
In his only start of the week and second start between the pipes this season, Palella made 26 saves and earned his first victory against the Ravens on Saturday. The junior netminder stopped ten combined shots over the first 40 minutes of action, before turning aside a game-high 16 in the third period to seal the Skyhawks' third straight victory.
Palella, who was named NE-10 Goaltender of the Week once as a freshman during the 2012-13 season, is 4-5 in 12 career appearances for Stonehill, recording a .909 save percentage and a 3.03 goals against average.
Stonehill (3-2-1, 3-0-0 NE-10), which has won 14 consecutive NE-10 regular season contests, is off until next Tuesday, December 2nd, when the Skyhawks return to the Foxboro Sports Center to host Saint Michael's College in a rematch of last season's NE-10 Tournament semifinal.
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