FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Purple Knights to Welcome Hounds for Title Tilt Saturday Afternoon
Fourth-seeded Assumption knocked off top-seeded Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference Ice Hockey Semifinal shocker, while Saint Michael's defeated Stonehill to set up next Saturday's title matchup. Here's how Semifinal Saturday played out -
#4 Assumption 4, #1 Saint Anselm3 | BOXSCORE
Manchester, N.H. - Hound forward Cam Laughlin, pictured, scored two goals to lift fourth seed Assumption to a 4-3 upset victory over top seed Saint Anselm in the NE10 Semifinals Saturday afternoon on the road.
At 13:51 into the first period, Hound forward Ryan Gomez scored on the power play when Matt Cowles set him up at the point to beat Hawks goaltender Colin Soucy on the blocker side. With 1:35 left in the first Laughlin scored an unassisted goal to take the 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
The Hounds' Nick Fenuccio fed Stephen Picard on the right side who beat Soucy over the glove for a 3-0 advantage. With 4:36 left in the second, Saint Anselm forward Nick Leonard scored from the slot assisted by Ryan Spillane and Vin D'Amato. The Hawks registered their second goal of the game with 21 seconds left in the second to trail just 3-2.
At 11:33 of the third, Laughlin recorded his second unassisted goal of the game, and the eventual game winner, beating Shane Joyce on the blocker side. Saint Anselm answered at 7:38 with a goal fromJon Pallotta to trail just 4-3.
#2 Saint Michael's 4, #3 Stonehill 1 | BOXSCORE
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Second-seeded Saint Michael's beat No. 3 Stonehill, 4-1, during an NE10 Conference Championship semifinal on Saturday at Cairns Arena.
The Purple Knights improved to 9-15-2 overall and, with No. 4 Assumption upsetting No. 1 Saint Anselm, will host the NE10 Championship title game next Saturday at a time to be determined. The Skyhawks ended the year 9-14-4, as Saint Michael's remained perfect in the teams' five-game postseason history.
Sophomore Sam D'Antuono paced Saint Michael's with a goal and two assists, while senior Josh Dickman, junior Eric Salzillo and sophomore defender Jack Ouellette chipped in a goal apiece.
Senior Justin McKenzie went 11-for-19 at the faceoff dot, and Salzillo was 9-of-15. Sophomore Chris Johnson, pictured, made 32 saves in the win, improving his season total to 801 and joining Simon Theberge '02 (837 in 2000-01) and Tyler Bilton '09 (806 in 2007-08) as the only Purple Knights with 800 stops in one season.
First-year Ryan Smith scored the lone goal for the Skyhawks, and sophomore netminder Billy Palmer had 46 saves in defeat.
Information for this release provided by the Assumption and Saint Michael's athletic communications staffs
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
