Ice Dogs rally past Seahawks, 3-2

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - Sophomore Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mass.) scored a pair of goals - including the game-winner with 1:55 left in regulation - to lift the Assumption College men's ice hockey team to a 3-2 win over Salve Regina University in non-conference action Tuesday night at Portsmouth Abbey Arena.

Junior Patrick Fitzgibbons (Holliston, Mass.) added a pair of assist for the Ice Dogs (10-8-0), who have won four of their last five contests. Juniors Matt Kervick (Stoneham, Mass.) and Bryan Russell (Essex Junction, Vt.) scored for the Seahawks, who fell to 1-17-0.

With the game tied at two and time winding down in the third period, sophomore Pat O'Kane (Hollis, N.H.) played the puck towards the front of the SRU net, and Larsen knocked the puck out of mid-air and past senior goalie Ryan Comerford (Merrimack, N.H.) to put the Ice Dogs ahead by one. The Seahawks pulled Comerford shortly after the ensuring faceoff, but were unable to get the equalizer.

"We got a couple of bad bounces. We're playing better in the defensive zone, which is the biggest thing for us," said Seahawk head coach Andy LeColst. "We've played a lot of hockey over the last four days, and if we could take last night out of the equation, this team has come a long way from where it was two weeks ago. We need to get a break here to turn things away, but we're working hard and the effort is there."

The Ice Dogs opened the scoring at 4:51 when freshman Cam Maillet (Leominster, Mass.) was credited with his second goal of the season. He controlled the puck in front of Comerford before a SRU skater - in an attempt to clear the puck into the corner - put the puck into the Seahawk net. Salve Regina evened the score at 16:16 of the period when Kervick redirected a shot from junior Lee Trott (Rehoboth, Mass.) for his first of the season.

In the second, Russell was sent off for boarding at 5:03, and the Seahawks were able to kill the Assumption PP chance. As the penalty expired, Russell jumped into the play and directed home a pass from junior Joe Colaianni (Monroe, N.Y.) for his first of the season, six seconds after his penalty expired (7:09). Junior Matt Norraik (Rochester, N.H.) picked up the second assist on the goal.

Late in the second period, the Ice Dogs received their third power-play opportunity, and Larsen one-timed a pass from Fitzgibbons past Comerford at the left side of the net at 16:33. Sophomore Kevin Glanzman (Massapequa, N.Y.) was credited with the second assist.

Comerford made 25 saves to fall to 0-2-0 for Salve Regina while sophomore Nick Blanchette (Stuart, Fla.) stopped 31 shots to improve to 10-4-0. Assumption converted on one of its three chances with the man advantage while Salve Regina went 0-for-2.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they play at Nichols at 3:30 p.m. The Ice Dogs host Southern New Hampshire Saturday at 6:35 p.m.