Seahawks come up short against Stonehill, 2-1

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - Sophomore Andrew Diozzi (Belmont, Mass.) scored a pair of second-period goals 1:18 apart and classmate Tyler Jackson (Little Silver, N.J.) made 29 saves to propel Stonehill College to a 2-1 win over Salve Regina University in non-conference hockey action Wednesday night at Portsmouth-Abbey Rink.

Senior Zachary Cantin (Walpole, Mass.) recorded an assist on both of Diozzi's tallies as the Skyhawks (6-6-1) ran their win streak to four games and stretched their unbeaten streak against the Seahawks (1-7-0) to five games (3-0-2).

Trailing 1-0 entering the second period, Diozzi's first goal at 13:07 of the second period off a feed from sophomore Bill Harris (Weymouth, Mass.) knotted the game at one. Less than 90 seconds later, he one-timed a pass from Cantin past freshman netminder Bobby Baylis (West Haven, Conn.) - who was making his first-career start in net - at 14:25.

"We outplayed them for 56 minutes of that game," said Seahawk head coach Andy LeColst. "They got a power-play goal, and that next shift was huge. They put the puck in the net, but we have to be able to deal with the adversity that comes from having two bad shifts. We have to be able to bounce back from that. I thought we played well, but we couldn't finish."

Senior Patrick Bambery (Braintree, Mass.) staked the Seahawks to a 1-0 lead at 9:41 of the opening stanza when he fired a wrist shot than rang off the post and into the net. The goal was his team-leading fourth of the season and was assisted by classmate Tyler Trott (Rehoboth, Mass.) and junior Kevin Sullivan (North Branford, Mass.).

The Seahawks held a 25-13 edge in shots through 40 minutes of play but were outshot 11-5 in the third despite receiving a five-minute power-play late in the contest after freshman Chris Gorovitz (Framingham, Mass.) was assessed a five-minute major penalty for hitting from behind and a game misconduct.

"We had a five-minute power play towards the end, but we seemed to be pressing, which is why the puck didn't seem to settle down for us," said LeColst. "Sometimes I think I'd rather have it be a two-minute minor than the five-minute major. I think it puts too much pressure on our guys."

Baylis finished with 22 saves, including a key save on freshman Dana Borges (Taunton, Mass.) on a breakaway late in the first period that preserved the Seahawks 1-0 lead. "He played well. I don't think he was tested a ton, but he made some big saves and was strong when he needed to be," said LeColst. "He made a big save on a breakaway and some point-blank stops."

Jackson, meanwhile, improved to 4-2-0 with the win and made his best save of the night on Trott's breakaway attempt with just over a minute remaining in the second period.

The Seahawks finished the evening 0-for-3 with the man advantage while the Skyhawks converted on one of their four power play opportunities.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday when they travel to Amherst College for a 7 p.m. contest. The Skyhawks will not play again until the turn of the calendar when they travel to Westfield State for a 7:35 contest.