Sophomore Stephen Balsamo(Atkinson, N.H.) netted a hat trick to lead Stonehill to a 6-1 non-league college ice hockey victory over Suffolk Wednesday evening at Steriti Rink.
The visiting Skyhawks (6-8) tallied four times in the final 5:43 of the opening period, including two markers in seven seconds off the sticks of Balsamo and freshman Dan Graham(Billerica, Mass.), en route to a 4-0 advantage after 20 minutes of play, and junior Bryan Rooney(Canton, Mass.) extended Stonehill's edge to 5-0 just 25 seconds into the second stanza before Balsamo completed his hat trick 1:26 into the final frame with a shorthanded tally.Junior Tim Sprague(Plymouth, Mass.) accounted for the lone goal of the night for the host Rams (4-5-2) 2:03 into the third period on feeds from junior Jon Stauffer(Landsdale, Pa.) and freshman Steve Colomey(Norwood, Mass.) to account for the final score.
Freshman Thomas Jenkins(Canton, Mass.) opening the scoring in the triumph for the Skyhawks, who also received two assists each off the sticks of senior Dana Borges(Taunton, Mass.), sophomore Brendan Greene(Weymouth, Mass.) and freshman Robbie Dorgan(Ossining, N.Y.) as well as single helpers from junior Andrew Miller(Oxford, Conn.), sophomore Kevin Aufiero(Canton, Mass.) and freshmen Nate Soter(Danvers, Mass.), Thomas DePaolo(Mendham, N.J.) and Grant Reichel(Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.).
Sophomore Chris Tasiopoulos(Norwell, Mass.) picked up the win in goal for Stonehill by stopping 23 of 24 shots on the evening, while freshman Jeff Allsopp(Hamilton, Mass.) made 31 saves in his first collegiate appearance in the setback for Suffolk in relief of fellow freshman Brandon Smolarek(Chesterfield, Mo.), who made nine saves in the opening 19-plus minutes of action.The Skyhawks outshot the Rams by a 46-24 margin for the contest, including a 33-14 advantage over the final two periods of play.
Suffolk will be idle until Saturday, January 5thwhen the Rams host the University of New England in a non-league outing at the Steriti Rink that faces off at 4:25 p.m., while Stonehill hosts Saint Michael's in a Northeast-10 Conference clash on Saturday afternoon in Foxboro, Mass. beginning at 4:10 p.m.
