BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Kevin Aufiero (Canton, Mass.) scored with 2:40 remaining in regulation to snap a 2-all tie and lift the Stonehill College ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in non-conference action at Walter Brown Arena Saturday night.
With the win the Skyhawks extend their unbeaten streak to six (4-0-2) while the Leopards dropped their third straight to stand at 4-5-1.
Stonehill jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a power-play goal from junior Richard Harris (Grand Island, N.Y.). In the offensive zone, senior Brendan Greene (Weymouth, Mass.) sent the puck from the left circle through the slot to Harris, who scored top right from the right circle.
The Leopards evened the score at a goal apiece at the 4:40 mark when junior Stephen McManus (Westwood, Mass.) picked up the puck behind the Stonehill net, and sent a pass through the slot to senior Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.), who fired a shot to the empty left side of the net for the goal. However, the Skyhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead midway through the opening stanza when junior Connor Fallon (Weymouth, Mass.) picked up a loose puck at the top of the zone and fired a shot through traffic from the blue line and found the back of the net Stonehill outshot the Wentworth 11-6 in the first.
Neither side could find the back of the net in the second period. Stonehill came close to going up by two, as junior Thomas Jenkins (Canton, Mass.) hit the right post, nearly beating senior Alex Peck (Kirkland, Que.). Wentworth held a 10-8 shot advantage in the middle frame.
At the 2:27 mark of the third period Wentworth tied the score at 2-all when senior Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.) tallied a power-play goal of his own, off assists from Domsodi and freshman Brian Farkas (Shoreline, Wash.).
The contest remained tied until Aufiero's goal, which came off a give-and-go with junior Garrett White (Wakefield, Mass.), put the visitors ahead. Peck was pulled in favor of an extra attacker in the final 1:10, however the Leopards were unable to get the tying goal.
Senior Chris Tasiopoulos (Norwell, Mass.) made 20 saves in net for Stonehill, while Peck stopped 23. Stonehill held a 26-22 shot advantage.
Wentworth is back in action tomorrow afternoon, playing host to Suffolk while Stonehill is at Westfield State on Wednesday.
Goals by Period 1 2 3 Tot
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Stonehill........... 2 0 1 - 3
Wentworth........... 1 0 1 - 2
1st period - 1, STO, Richard Harris/3 (Brendan Greene/6, Robbie Dorgan/5) 1:52 (pp). 2, WIT, Mike Domsodi/2 (Stephen McManus/2) 4:40. 3, STO, Connor Fallon/2 10:28. Penalties - Brian Farkas, WIT (slashing) 1:22.
2nd period - Penalties - Garrett White, STO (hooking) 2:30.
3rd period - 4, WIT, Kevin Crowe/5 (Mike Domsodi/4, Brian Farkas/2) 2:27 (pp). 5, STO, Kevin Aufiero/5 (Garrett White/3) 17:20. Penalties - Anthony D'Elia, STO (tripping) :40; Curtis Heinz, WIT (interference) 3:08; Evan Jacques, STO (slashing) 8:43.
Shots on goal - STO 11-8-7 26; WIT 6-10-6 22.
Power plays - STO 1 of 2; WIT 1 of 3.
Penalties - STO 3 (6 min); WIT 2 (4 min).
Goalies - STO, Chris Tasiopoulos 3-1-2 (59:44 minutes, 22 shots-20 saves) , EMPTY NET (00:16, 0-0); WIT, Alex Peck 3-3-0 (58:50, 26-23), EMPTY NET (01:10, 0-0).
