2008-2009 NORTHEAST-10 ICE HOCKEY
CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, February 28
Quarterfinals
Game 1: #5 Saint Michael's 5, #4 Assumption 4
Game 2: #6 Stonehill 6, #3 Franklin Pierce 0
Wednesday, March 4
Semifinals
Game 3: #6 Stonehill 7, #1 Saint Anselm 4
Game 4: #5 Saint Michael's 4, #2 So. New Hampshire 2
Saturday, March 7
Championship - at
Higher Seed
Game 5: #6 Stonehill at #5 Saint Michael's
* Championship Field will reseed after quarterfinals
Top Seeds Ousted as Championship Field is Set for Ice Hockey
South Easton, Mass. – The top two seeds in the Northeast-10
Ice Hockey championship were eliminated by the two bottom seeds
Wednesday night during semifinal action as #6 Stonehill College
defeated #1 Saint Anselm College, 7-4, and #5 Saint Michael’s
College was victorious over #2 Southern New Hampshire University,
4-2.
This sets up a championship final between the last two
Northeast-10 champions. Saint Michael’s is making its sixth
trip to the finals, won the championship last year, while Stonehill
won prior and will be making its second appearance to the
finals.
The first semifinal of the evening featured Stonehill and Saint
Anselm. The Skyhawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead scoring twice
within the first seven minutes of action with goals from James
Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) and Andrew Diozzi (Belmont,
Mass.). Saint Anselm cut the lead in half midway through the first
half with a goal by Tom Kerwin (Whitman, Mass.) but that would be
as close as the score would get as Stonehill kept no-less than a
two-goal advantage throughout the game.
Junior Pete Roundy (Simsbury, Conn.) scored two goals for the
Skyhawks, while sophomore goaltender Mike Manna (Framingham, Mass.)
came up big in net with 37 saves. Saint Anselm senior Brian
Hartigan (Saugus, Mass.) scored two goals for the Hawks and added
an assist.
With the win Stonehill improves to 10-12-1, while Saint Anselm
finishes the year 10-15-1.
In the other semifinal contest it was Saint Michael’s that
jumped out early on Southern New Hampshire. Sophomore Matt Rigtrup
(Upper Montclair, N.J.), the NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year,
started the scoring for the Purple Knights with an early first half
power play goal to give Saint Michael’s the 1-0 lead. Senior
Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y.) tacked on another first half goal for
the Purple Knights increasing the lead to 2-0 as the teams entered
the first intermission.
Trailing 2-0 entering the second half, the Penmen responded
scoring two goals within the first five minutes of action with
goals coming from freshman Doug Boulanger (Beauport, Quebec) and
sophomore Bob Bryant (Nashua, N.H.).
The game remained tied as the two teams entered the locker rooms
for the second intermission. It wasn’t until midway through
the third period when Saint Michael’s broke open the tie as
sophomore Nick Sheehan (Potsdam, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal
with 7:43 remaining on the clock. The Purple Knights would add an
additional goal by freshman Brady Earle (Columbia, Md.) as he took
advantage of an empty net to secure the 4-2 victory with seconds
remaining on the clock.
The NE-10 Goaltender of the Year, senior Tyler Bilton (Penticton,
British Columbia), made 37 saves in goal for Saint
Michael’s.
The win improves the Purple Knights to 10-15-2, while the Penmen
end the year with a record of 9-13-2.
Stonehill will face Saint Michael’s in the championship
final on Saturday, March 7. The time of the game is still to be
determined. Be sure to check the Northeast-10 website
(www.northeast10.org) for additional championship information.
With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest
NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23
championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500
student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II
conference.
- NE-10 -
Saint Anselm Claims Top Seed in Upcoming Ice Hockey
Championship
South Easton, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College Hawks secured
the top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Ice Hockey Championships
after completing conference play with a perfect 5-0 record. This
marks the sixth straight season that the Hawks won the Northeast-10
Regular Season title. Last year, Saint Anselm shared the honors
with Saint Michael’s as co-champions.
Southern New Hampshire University (9-12-2, 3-2 NE-10) received the
second seed in this year’s championship as the Penmen
finished conference play with a 3-2 mark. Both Saint Anselm and
Southern New Hampshire will receive a first round bye and host a
semifinal contest on March 4.
First round match ups are set for Saturday, Feb. 28 and include #5
Saint Michael’s College (8-15-2, 2-3 NE-10) visiting #4
Assumption College (6-15-4, 2-3 NE-10) and #6 Stonehill College
(8-12-1, 1-4 NE-10) at #3 Franklin Pierce University (5-17-2, 2-3
NE-10). The Stonehill/Franklin Pierce contest is set for a 3 p.m.
start, while Saint Michael’s/Assumption match up will drop
the puck at 7:30 p.m.
The semifinals begin on Wednesday, March 4 and will feature #1
Saint Anselm and #2 Southern New Hampshire hosting the winners from
the quarterfinals. New for this year’s championship, the top
seed will host the lowest remaining seed rather than using the
standard bracket system. Saint Anselm will host its semifinal game
at 7 p.m., while Southern New Hampshire will host its contest at
7:30 p.m.
The championship game will be on Saturday, March 7 at the highest
remaining seed. The time is still to be determined. Be sure to
check the Northeast-10 website (www.northeast10.org) for scores and
updates throughout the championship.
With 15 member institutions the Northeast-10 is the second largest
NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation. Its 23
championship sports provide athletic opportunities for over 5,500
student-athletes, the largest such program of any Division II
conference.
- NE-10 -



























