By Nicole Belair, Staff Writer
The Corsairs were able to come back from a two-goal deficit in a non-conference game against the Stonehill Skyhawks last Tuesday night.
UMass Dartmouth sophomore, Tommy Bay, made a career-high 41 saves, preserving the Corsairs’ comeback and enabling them to defeat the Skyhawks.
Only thirty seconds into the first period, Stonehill forward, Evan Jacques, quickly scored his team’s first goal with an assist by Christopher Page.
The following sixteen minutes of the period were scoreless, despite UMass Dartmouth and Stonehill taking twelve shots each.
With just a few minutes remaining in the period, Ryan Smith scored for the Skyhawks, increasing their lead, 2-0.
Seconds before the end of the first period, UMass Dartmouth’s Jerry Laasko and Mike Kelly set up junior Mike Sones, who ripped a shot into the back of the cage, cutting the goal deficit down to one.
Right at the start of the second period, Corsairs’ Jonathan Ruiz broke free from a group of Skyhawks and sent the puck over their goalkeeper, Billy Palmer, tying the game at 2 with his second short-handed goal of the season.
At 9:51, Kelly secured the win for UMass Dartmouth when he received a pass from Jerry Laasko and junior Casey Shea, and fired the puck past Billy Palmer.
Although the Corsairs fired thirteen more shots and Stonehill took fourteen, the remainder of the period was slow scoring-wise.
The Corsairs were able to hold onto their lead throughout the rest of the second and third periods.
Stonehill took sixteen shots in the third period, twice as many as UMass Dartmouth, but Tommy Bay did not give up any. After a scoreless third period, the Corsairs still came out on top with a final score of 3-2.
With a power-play goal in the last two games, Mike Sones is now tied at the top of the nation’s statistical rankings with eight power-play goals on the season.
Tommy Bay stopped 41 shots in the full 60 minutes of the game, breaking his career-record from last January, when he made 33 stops against Fitchburg State.
Billy Palmer was able to post 39 saves for the visitors, despite his team’s record of 8-12-4 on the year.
The Corsairs now stand at 13 wins and 8 losses on the season overall, and hold an 8-6-0 record in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
UMass Dartmouth will hit the road this week, as they head to Salem State on Thursday night for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.
Salem State currently stands at 10-2-2 in the Conference, and 11-7-3 overall. The Corsairs will then host the Fitchburg State Falcons on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
The Falcons have a record of 7-7-1 in the Conference, and 10-11-1 overall. Salem State stands at second place in the conference, followed by UMass Dartmouth, while Fitchburg State holds fourth place.