Embrace the Victory: Top Seeds Advance to NE10 Ice Hockey Championship Game

Embrace the Victory: Top Seeds Advance to NE10 Ice Hockey Championship Game
Posted: Feb 23, 2019

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

Hawks, Penmen Advance to Championship Game After Tight Semifinal Matchups.

MANSFIELD, Mass. - No. 1 Saint Anselm and No. 2 Southern New Hampshire will meet in the Northeast 10 Conference Ice Hockey Championship, following their semifinal victories on Saturday afternoon against Saint Michael's and Assumption. The championship game, which is tabbed for 1 p.m. in Manchester, N.H., will be broadcast live on NE10 NOW. 

The Hawks had a memorable win over Assumption, earning a 2-1 victory in triple overtime - the longest game in NE10 Ice Hockey Championship history - to advance to their fourth championship game in the past five seasons. The Penmen scored a late third period goal to earn a hardfought 3-2 win over Saint Michael's, earning their first trip to the NE10 Championship since the 2013-14 season. 

No. 2 SNHU 3, No. 3 Saint Michael's 2

When and Where: February 23, 2019 – Hooksett, N.H. (The Ice Den)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 3, Saint Michael's College 2
Records: SNHU 13-9-4, Saint Michael's College 7-16-4
Northeast-10 Semifinals

Senior Artem Efimov-Barakov (Khimki, Russia) scored with 13:55 left in the third period to lift Southern New Hampshire to a 3-2 win over Saint Michael's College, sending the Penmen to the Northeast-10 Championship Game next Saturday.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

  • Efimov-Barakov's game-winning goal was his sixth of the season and 21st of his career
  • Freshman Andy Somerville tied the game at 1-1 with his eighth goal in the second period.
  • "Georgia Line" teammates Cole Stewart and Jake Cox combined to put SNHU in the lead for the first time in the second period.
  • SNHU junior goalie Kurt Gutting (Weymouth, Mass.), who was named NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year, 25 of 27 shots to earn the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • Saint Michael's took advantage of the first power-play opportunity of the game, scoring at 7:45 of the first period.  With SNHU senior Brett Strawn (Wareham, Mass.) in the penalty box for hooking, Andrew Olevitz was able to knock home a rebound from in tight for  the goal.  
  • Naill Foster picked up an assist after he shot was blocked.  Cameron Stewart also assisted on the goal.
  • The Purple Knights had another power-play opportunity later in the period, but failed to score.
  • Despite limited opportunities, the Penmen had a slim 9-7 shot advantage in the first period.
  • SNHU tied the game, then took the lead, in the second period.
  • Freshman Andy Somerville (Medford, Mass.) tied the game at 10:47 of the period.  He won a face-off in the Saint Michael's zone, sending the puck back to the blue line for a shot by freshman Joe Fiorino (Willow Grove, Pa.).   Somerville redirected the blast for the goal.
  • Southern New Hampshire took a 2-1 lead exactly two minutes later on a goal by freshman Cole Stewart (Alpharetta, Ga.) assisted by freshman Jake Cox (Columbus, Ga.)
  • With time running down in the middle period, the Purple Knights were able to tie the contest.  After winning a face off in the SNHU zone, Hadan Jordan's blast was tipped in by Nic Hermary.  Patrick Doherty also had an assist on the goal, which came at 19:26 of the second period. 
  • The game-winning goal came at 13:55 of the final period.  Efimov-Barakov was set-up by junior Kaleb Godbout (Williston, Vt.) and senior Joseph Berardi (Burlington, Mass.).  His slap shot found in the upper right corner of the net.

No. 1 Saint Anselm 2, No. 4 Assumption 1 (3OT)

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Competing in the longest overtime contest in Northeast-10 Conference postseason history, freshman Anthony Iacullo (Barrington, Ill.) swiped home the game-winning goal only 2:25 into the third overtime period to propel the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team to a 2-1 victory in the league semifinals on Saturday.

Saint Anselm improves to 16-12-2 and will battle its cross-town rivals, the Penmen from Southern New Hampshire University, on Saturday, Mar. 2. Assumption sees its season come to a close with a 15-9-3 overall record, entering the NE10 postseason as the fourth seed. The top seeded Hawks will play the second-seeded Penmen, thanks to their 3-2 win over Saint Michael's on Saturday.

More information about the Hawks' championship game appearance will be released in the coming days.

The Hawks will be in search of their league-leading 11th tournament championship since its formation in 1999-00. Last season, the Hawks won their first NE10 title since the 2014-15 campaign and will battle the Penmen in the championship game for the first time since 2005-06. Saint Anselm is now a commanding 28-9 in all-time NE10 postseason play.

Saint Anselm backstop Colin Soucy (North Andover, Mass.) made a career-high 56 saves in the game, including 21 in a scoreless first overtime period. He would finish the contest with 25 overtime saves, keeping the Hawks in contention throughout the extra 42:25 of game play.

The game-winning goal came shortly into the third overtime as a blocked shot by the Hawks in the defensive zone sparked transition up the ice. Freshman Kilian Hammersmith (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) swatted the puck forward, leading a three-on-two rush alongside Iacullo and senior Bryan Green (Weymouth, Mass.). The initial shot attempt by Hammersmith was blocked down before a falling Iacullo batted the puck home for the score.

Assumption's Matt Damelio put the game's first goal on the board only 58 seconds into the third period, using his 11th goal of the season to create a 1-0 lead for the visitors. Junior Mike Ferraro (Northbridge, Mass.) drew the game even at one in the third period's 11th minute, scoring off a pass from sophomore Alec Andreucci (Guilford, Conn.) for the equalizer.

The Greyhounds posted 57 shots in the game, limiting the Hawks to only 32 attempts on goal. The Greyhounds had 32 shots through three periods and, as mentioned earlier, had 21 in the first overtime period alone. The Hawks never had more than eight shots in a period, but scored on the third overtime's first shot attempt by either team.

1. Saint Anselm (10-4-1; 21 points)
2. Southern New Hampshire (7-5-3; 17 points) ^
3. Saint Michael’s (7-5-3; 17 points) ^
4. Assumption (7-5-3; 17 points) ^
 
^ SNHU, Saint Michael’s and Assumption finished in a three way tie, with 17 point each. SNHU earned the #2 seed, finishing 2-1-3 in the mini-conference for a total of 7 points. Saint Michael’s earned the #3 seed (2-2-2 for 6 points in the mini-conference) and won the head-to-head regular season series with Assumption (2-1).

Saturday, February 23rd        
Semifinals ­
Game 1:  #2 SNHU 3, #3 Saint Michael's 2
Game 2: #1 Saint Anselm 2, #4 Assumption 1 (3OT)
 
Saturday, March 2nd      
Championship (to be held at highest remaining seed) ­
Game 3:  Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
 
*Game times shall be subject to the availability of ice facilities. The preferred start time for all championship games is 1:00 pm.
 
-Releases provided by Saint Anselm and SNHU athletic communications staffs-

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