BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (January 22, 2022)- The Stonehill College men's ice hockey team returned back to their home ice at the Bridgewater Ice Arena Saturday afternoon and came away with their first win of the new year topping the Anna Maria College AMCATS by a score of 6-2. Matt Talarico led the Skyhawks offensive attack with two goals along with other contributions from John Peloso, Mike Seoane, Sage Bittinger-Esser, and Teddy McElaney.

  How It Happened:

• Stonehill wasted no time in the contest scoring just a little over one minute into action (1:10) after Peloso capitalized off an Anna Maria turnover near mid-ice. Once he swiped the puck, Peloso shot up the ice and sent the puck past AMCATS netminder, Julius Huset for the quick 1-0 advantage.
• Anna Maria had multiple opportunities after the goal by taking six shots on Skyhawks goalie, Chase McKay stopped each AMCAT potential equalizer before Seoane would score the eventual game-winner. 
• At 9:53, Seoane received a great pass from Will Cohen which allowed Seoane to put his shot past Huset for the 2-0 Stonehill lead. However, Anna Maria ended up sneaking in a goal with just one second remaining in the period after Matthew Gilbert won the faceoff for the AMCATS and Samuel Gaudreau riffled a one-timer from the face-off win to cut the deficit down to one heading into the second.
• Despite being outshot in the second period (11-7), it was all Stonehill as they would tack on two more goals courtesy of Talarico and Bittinger-Esser. Just six minutes into the period (14:00), Seoane ended up finding an open Talarico and found the back of the net for his first collegiate goal. Later in the period at 3:51, Bittinger-Esser also scored his first collegiate goal after a great set-up by Nolan FitzPatrick and Teddy McElaney. 
• The AMCATS ended up getting back another goal with 6:55 remaining in the game when Jack Sitzman was set up by Samson Mouland on the powerplay to make it 4-2. Despite the goal, Stonehill ended up putting the game away for good after they received goals from Talarico one minute later (5:53) and then an empty-netter from McElaney with 58 seconds left. 
• Although Anna Maria scored twice, McKay had his best game of the season when he stopped a season-high 38 shots on the afternoon. In three out of the four games he's played this season, McKay has recorded 30 or more saves in those matchups. 

Up Next:

Stonehill will have some time off before resuming play Friday, January 28 when they host Franklin Pierce University for Northeast 10 Conference action at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Anna Maria heads out to Wesleyan (Conn.) on Tuesday, January 25 for a 7 p.m. puck drop. 

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.