MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. (March 7, 2026) – The Stonehill College men's hockey team's 2025–26 season came to an end Saturday night, as it fell to Long Island University in the third-place game of the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup, 4–3. With the loss, the Skyhawks finished the season with an 11–22–3 overall record, while the Sharks concluded their year at 14–18–1.
 
Highlights

• Freshman Pat Murphy led the Skyhawks' offensive output, recording his first career two-goal game and increasing his season total to nine goals.
• Junior Matthew Romer registered his seventh multi-point game of the season, scoring in the final minute and adding an assist on Murphy's second goal.
• Junior Anthony Galante and sophomore Billy Renfrew recorded their 14th and 16th assists of the season, respectively.
• Freshman Matthew Rafalski blocked a game-high three shots, while Renfrew and sophomore Joel Lehtinen tied for the game high with nine faceoff wins.
• Sophomore goaltender Linards Lipskis made 24 saves in net for the Skyhawks.

 
How It Happened
LIU came out strong, controlling the offensive zone for much of the first 10 minutes of the contest. Despite being outshot early, 9–4, Lipskis and the Skyhawks defense held firm, keeping the Sharks off the board during the stretch. However, at the 10:54 mark, LIU opened the scoring when Noah Serdachny netted his first of two goals on the day.

Within five minutes of the Sharks taking the first lead in the third-place game of the UCHC, Murphy buried a pair of goals at the 12:57 and 15:54 marks of the opening frame to give the Skyhawks their first lead of the contest. Less than 90 seconds after Murphy's second tally, Sixten Jennersjö lit the lamp for his eighth goal of the season, tying the score at two heading into the first intermission.

The second period featured back-and-forth action, with Stonehill holding a narrow 10–9 edge in shots on goal. LIU, however, broke the deadlock and regained the lead at the 6:08 mark when JR Perdion scored his 11th goal of the season off assists from Serdachny and Isaac Lambert.

Stonehill applied pressure late in the second stanza, earning its second power-play opportunity and generating nine shot attempts to LIU's one over the final four minutes of the period. Despite the surge, the Skyhawks were unable to find the equalizer and entered the third period trailing by one.

In the third period, the Stonehill penalty kill unit was tested, facing the top-ranked NCAA Division I independent LIU power play three times. After successfully killing off the first two chances, LIU extended its lead to two on the third opportunity. Serdachny scored his second goal of the game off assists from Trevor Griebel and Perdion.

Although Romer found the back of the net at the 19:35 mark of the period, the Skyhawks were unable to secure the equalizer, falling to the Sharks by a final score of 4–3.

For the latest on Stonehill Athletics, follow the Skyhawks via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.