BOSTON, Mass. (February 3, 2026) – The Stonehill College men's hockey team fell in a high-scoring affair Tuesday night, dropping a 9–5 decision to Merrimack College at Warrior Ice Arena. With the loss, the Skyhawks slipped to 5-19-2 on the season, while the Warriors improved to 14-12-1 overall.
 
Highlights

• Junior JJ Grainda notched his first career hat trick, becoming the first Skyhawk in program history to score three goals against an NCAA Division I opponent and the first Stonehill player overall to record a hat trick since senior Frankie Ireland scored four goals against Framingham State on Feb. 18, 2023.
• Graduate student Evan Orr and freshman Matthew Rafalski each dished out two assists, while freshman Pat Murphy and junior Anthony Galante netted their fourth and fifth goals of the season, respectively.
• Senior Ryan Davies, junior Dominick Campione, and sophomores Billy Renfrew and Justin Gibson each picked up an assist in the contest.
• Senior David Posma led all players with four blocked shots on the night.
• Graduate student Connor Androlewicz, senior Dylan Ghaemi, and sophomore Linards Lipskis combined for 33 saves in goal.

 
How It Happened
Merrimack wasted little time jumping out to an early lead, as just 1:13 into the contest Trevor Hoskin put the Warriors on the board with his seventh goal of the season. Midway through the opening frame, Merrimack doubled its advantage when Ryan O'Connell netted his third of the campaign.

In the waning minutes of the first period, Stonehill cut into the two-goal deficit when Murphy snapped a wrist shot top shelf over the blocker of Max Lundgren in net for his fourth goal of the season. However, goals in quick succession during the final 70 seconds of the period by Joseph Henneberry (18:51) and Cam Kungle (19:43.5) sent the teams into the first intermission with the Warriors holding a 4-1 lead.

Grainda trimmed the Skyhawks' deficit back to two at the 13:36 mark of the second period, scoring his first goal of the night while shorthanded off an assist from Orr. Merrimack responded with back-to-back special teams tallies—one shorthanded and one on the power play—from Hoskin (15:55) and Caelan Fitzpatrick (19:36.1), taking a 6-2 lead into the third period.

Galante jump-started the final frame, netting his fifth goal of the season on the power play after pouncing on a rebound off a point shot from Rafalski 1:19 into the frame. The goal marked Stonehill's second power-play tally and third special teams goal of the night. Merrimack answered with three more goals to build a commanding 9-3 advantage with 12:51 remaining in regulation.

Grainda capped off his hat trick with a pair of goals scored within 56 seconds of one another, pulling Stonehill within four at 9-5 with 6:11 left to play. Despite the strong offensive showing from the junior forward, the deficit proved too much to overcome as the Skyhawks fell by a final score of 9-5.
 
Up Next
Stonehill (5-19-2) returns to action this weekend, hosting Lindenwood University at Warrior Ice Arena for a two-game series. Puck drop for Friday night's opener between the Skyhawks and Lions is set for 7 p.m.

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