Junior Angelo Todesca scored the lone Stonehill goal, his ninth of the year, tonight.

Saint Michael's Defeats Stonehill, 4-1

Three-goal second period lifts Purple Knights past Skyhawks

Boxscore 

Photo Gallery

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (February 23, 2010) - Saint Michael's College scored three goals in the second period to break a scoreless tie on its way to a 4-1 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey action at Cairns Ice Arena tonight.

Senior Kyle Marquis (Richmond, Va.) and freshman Josh Geary (Wellesley, Mass./Phillips Andover Academy) each posted a goal and assist to lead Saint Michael's. Senior Ryan Nest (Gansevoort, N.Y.) dished two assists for the Purple Knights, who also got goals from senior Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz./Kent School) and sophomore Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba) each chipped in with a goal apiece.

Freshman Mike Dizgun (Kirkland, Quebec) made 19 saves in goal for Saint Michael's to preserve the win. Junior Michael Manna (Framingham, Mass./Xaverian Brothers) posted 41 stops in goal for Stonehill, who finished the game with a 45-20 deficit in shots on goal. The Purple Knights finished 1-for-6 on the power-play, while the Skyhawks came up empty on four chances with the man advantage.

Junior Michael Manna made 41 saves, including 17 in a scoreless first period.

Junior Angelo Todesca (Westwood, Mass./Catholic Memorial) scored the lone goal for Stonehill, with an assist to sophomore Patrick Greene (Weymouth, Mass./Catholic Memorial). Senior co-captain Peter Roundy (Simsbury, Conn./Kimball Union) was held off the score sheet for the first time in the second half of the Skyhawks season, snapping a personal nine-game point streak.

Manna made 17 saves in a scoreless first period, but Saint Michael's broke through just 46-seconds into the second period as Marquis scored his second goal of the season, assisted by Nest and Geary. The Purple Knights doubled their lead less than two minutes later when MacKinnon netted his tenth of the year, assisted by freshman Justin Castagna (Los Alamitos, Calif.), at 2:23. Saint Michael's wrapped up its three goal second period when Geary collected his fifth goal of the year, assisted by Marquis and Nest.

Stonehill looked to make a third period rally, when Todesca potted his ninth of the year, assisted by Greene, 9:22 into the stanza. Saint Michael's ended the comeback hopes just over three minutes later as Higgins scored his third of the year, on the power-play, at 12:36.                 

Stonehill (9-14-1, 2-8-0 NE-10) is back in action on Thursday when it hosts Saint Anselm College for Senior Night at the Foxborough Sports Center at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks, who will face Franklin Pierce University in the first round of the upcoming NE-10 tournament on Saturday regardless, can clinch home ice advantage in the opening round matchup with a win. Saint Michael's (6-16-3, 3-1-1 NE-10) will host Southern New Hampshire University for an NE-10 tournament first round matchup on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Saint Michael's 4, Stonehill 1

                                    1      2    3       -    T
Stonehill                       0     0    1       -    1
Saint Michael's              0     3    1       -    4

Scoring: STM: Kyle Marquis (Ryan Nest, Josh Geary) 0:46; STM: Reave MacKinnon (Justin Castagna) 2:23; STM: Geary (Marquis, Nest) 16:20; STO: Angelo Todesca (Patrick Greene) 9:22; STM: Alex Higgins (Tim Geverd, Dave Vorozilchak) 12:36-PP.

Goaltending: STO: Michael Manna (59:44) 17-13-11=41; STM: Mike Dizgun (60:00) 4-7-8=19.

Shots on Goal: STO: 4-7-9=20; STO: 17-16-12=45.

Power Play: STO: 0/4; STM: 1/6.