Men's Ice Hockey

IN SEARCH OF NORTHEAST-10 TITLE, SAINT MICHAEL'S STYMIED BY STONEHILL

Purple Knights fall to Skyhawks in season finale, 5-3

Boxscore: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/boxes/mstmstn1.f26

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Closing out the season with an 8-3-1 record at home, the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team (10-14-1, 4-1-0 NE-10) fell to Stonehill College (10-10-2, 3-1-0 NE-10), 5-3, in Northeast-10 Conference action on Tuesday evening at the Cairns Arena.  Still in contention for a Northeast-10 regular season title with a Stonehill loss on Thursday to Saint Anselm, Saint Michael's will host a semi-final playoff contest on March 5 as one of the top two seeds in the conference.

In an effort to clinch the Northeast-10 regular season title, the Purple Knights were led by Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y.), the leading goal-scorer in the Northeast-10, scoring his 18th on the year  along with his 16th assist through his third season.  Junior goaltender Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C.) fell to 9-12-1 on the year with 30 saves on the night, including 13 in the final period.  Junior Chris Healey (Salem, N.H.) also contributed a goal and an assist in the Purple Knights final regular season contest, making his season total 10 and 13, respectively.

The Skyhawks were also led by their leading goal-scorer, captain Brendan O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.), who tallied his 11th goal of the year along with 11th and 12th assists, both in the first frame.  Freshman goaltender Mike Manna (Framingham, Mass.) made a number of dazzling saves to make his season mark 8-5-1 with 37 saves on the night, including 17 in the first period alone.                                                                                                                                          

Peppering Manna in net with 19 shots in the first period, the Purple Knights broke the scoreless tie six minutes in when Healey re-directed a Mero-shot from the point amid Saint Michael's first power play on the night.  Midway through the period, Stonehill knotted the score with a two-on-one break headed up by sophomore Pete Roundy (Simsbury, Conn.) and converted by Curran.  Minutes later, Dodge put the Purple Knights back on top with a top-shelf blast from the left wing, making the Purple Knights a perfect two-of-two on the first period power play.  For the second time in the period, the Skyhawks tied things up with a bizarre goal off the head of junior Frank Amato (West Springfield, Mass.) on the aerial centering pass from senior John Durkin (Scituate, Mass.).  Stonehill would carry the momentum through the end of the first with another goal just over one minute following the equalizer from O'Brien, as the junior found the five-hole past Bilton.

Opening up the second period, the Purple Knights scored their first short-handed goal of the year when their leading goal-scorer Mero was fed by Caron and Healey for the equalizer.  Stonehill would retain the lead just over a minute later when Davis registered his eighth goal on the year from Ninteau on the power play.    Saint Michael's looked to tie things up late in the period on a spin move by Caron, but a diving Manna dashed the Purple Knights hopes of a tie entering the final period.

Skating through 12 minutes of a scoreless third period, Stonehill capitalized midway through the period after failing to convert on a five-on-three man-advantage early on.  Junio Paul Reissfelder  (Plymouth, Mass.) sent home his fourth goal on the season adding insurance for the Skyhawks on the assist from Davis and senior Chase Feole (Windham, N.H.).

Score by period:        1st        2nd       3rd        Total:

Saint Michael's           2          1          0          3

Stonehill                      3          1          1          5

Shots by period:        1st        2nd       3rd        Total:

Saint Michael's           19        10        11        40

Stonehill                      7          13        14        34

Saves by period:        1st        2nd       3rd        Total:

SMC, Bilton                4          12        13        29

STO, Manna                17        9          11        37

1st Period Scoring: 1. SMC, Healey (Mero, Rigtrup), 6:15; 2. STO, Curran (Roundy, O'Brien), 10:03; 3. SMC, Dodge (Marquis, Legare), 12:27; 4. STO, Amato (Durkin), 15:01; 5. STO, O'Brien (Roundy, Curran), 16:19;

1st Period Penalties: SMC - 1 minor(s); STO - 3 minor(s)

2nd Period Scoring: 1. SMC, Mero (Caron, Marquis), 4:46; 2. STO, Davis (Ninteau, O'Brien) 5:52

2nd Period Penalties:  SMC - 2 minor(s); STO - 0 minor(s)

3rd Period Scoring: 1. STO, Reissfelder (Davis, Feole), 12:08;

3rd Period Penalties: SMC - 3 minor(s); STO - 2 minor(s)

Timeouts: SMC, 3rd - 16:28

Notes:

Attendance: 175