Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director		(508) 990-9651  	[log in to unmask]
For Immediate Release: Saturday, November 11, 2006					

UMASS DARTMOUTH BLANKS BECKER, 8-0

NEW BEDFORD, MA–What a difference a day made for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s hockey team.

The Corsairs, who were blanked on five power play chances against Lebanon Valley Friday night, converted five of nine power play chances Saturday en route to an 8-0 victory against Becker at the Stephen Hetland Memorial Ice Arena.

UMass Dartmouth didn’t waste much time-they scored three of their power play goals within 23 seconds of the infraction. Junior forward Jeff Grant (Burlington, MA/Austin Prep), who scored twice Friday night, broke a scoreless tie when he scored his first of two goals Saturday on the power play. His shot from the right side beat Hawks goaltender Brandon Melikian seven seconds after the power play began. Freshman defenseman Paul Moran (Rockville Centre, NY/Boston Jr. Bulldogs) and sophomore defenseman Francis Gunn (Winthrop, MA/Berkshire Academy) assisted. Sophomore forward Nick Paquin (Warwick, RI/Winchendon Academy) made it 2-0 when his shot deflected in at 14:51 of the first period. Sophomore forward Chris Shore (West Haven, CT/Winchendon Academy) and junior forward Jon Finn (Warwick, RI/Boston Harborwolves) drew assists. 

Grant scored his second of the game to make it 3-0 at the 2:36 mark of the second period, tapping a cross-crease pass from senior forward Jim Foley (Brockton, MA/Catholic Memorial HS) nine seconds into a BC penalty. Foley scored a power play goal on a rebound at the 5:17 mark of the second period, then junior forward Kyle McCullough (Danvers, MA/Boston Jr. Blackhawks) made it 5-0 when he converted a pass from junior defenseman Tyler Crocker (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield HS). Shore made it 6-0 when he scored a power play goal at the 16:31 mark. Senior forward Peter Lindner (Parlin, NJ/Christian Brothers Academy) and Shore added third period goals to account for the final margin.

“As bad as our power play looked last night, it was that good tonight,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “We really attacked the net today, and we played 60 full minutes of hockey. We were worried about fatigue, since it’s one of the rare times we play back-to-back games, but it wasn’t a problem. All in all, it was a very good opening weekend.”

UMD out shot the Hawks, 41-14. Sophomore Jeff Green (Medway, MA/Medway HS) started and made 12 saves, before junior Bruce Maggio (Quincy, MA/North Quincy HS) finished up, playing the final 9:10 and making two saves. Melikian surrendered five goals in the first 30:15, before Anthony Oliveira relieved, yielding three goals and making 17 saves.

The Corsairs improved their overall record to 2-0-0 with the victory, while Becker fell to 1-4-0 with the defeat. UMass Dartmouth will return to action when they host Stonehill Wednesday evening, while Becker will host Worcester State next Sunday afternoon.
 
UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY

 Becker (1-5-0) vs. UMass Dartmouth (2-0-0)
 Date: Nov 11, 2006  Location: New Bedford, MA       Arena: Hetland Ice Arena
 Attendance:193   

 Goals by Period       1  2  3  Tot
 ----------------------------------
 Becker..............  0  0  0 -  0
 UMass Dartmouth.....  2  4  2 -  8

   1st period - 1, UMDM, Jeff Grant/3 (Paul Moran/1, Francis Gunn/1)
10:18 (pp). 2, UMDM, Nick Paquin/1 (Chris Shore/1, Jon Finn/1) 14:51.
Penalties - Joey Meyer, BECKER (tripping) 1:11; Chris Shore, UMDM
(interference) 4:07; Joey Meyer, BECKER (tripping) 10:11; Sean Hayes,
BECKER (elbowing) 11:44; Sean Hayes, BECKER (slashing) 16:22; Jon
Finn, UMDM (elbowing) 20:00.

   2nd period - 3, UMDM, Jeff Grant/4 (Jim Foley/2, Kyle McCullough/3)
2:36 (pp). 4, UMDM, Jim Foley/1 (Jeff Grant/1, Kyle McCullough/4) 5:17
(pp). 5, UMDM, Kyle McCullough/2 (Tyler Crocker/1, Graeme Bourne/1)
10:15. 6, UMDM, Chris Shore/1 (Nick Paquin/1, Paul Moran/2) 16:31
(pp). Penalties - Joe Dorney, BECKER (interference) 2:27; Joe Dorney,
BECKER (hooking) 4:54; Matt Oster, BECKER (tripping) 13:16; Andrew
Ford, BECKER (cross-checking) 14:49.

   3rd period - 7, UMDM, Peter Lindner/1 (Tyler Vrolyk/2, Ray Kirby/1)
1:43. 8, UMDM, Chris Shore/2 (Nick Paquin/2, Mike McNulty/2) 5:23
(pp). Penalties - TEAM, BECKER (too many on ice) 4:07; Pat Welch, UMDM
(roughing) 10:17; Andrew Ford, BECKER (holding) 10:17; Tyler Vrolyk,
UMDM (roughing) 19:09; Keith Dube, BECKER (roughing) 19:09.

   Shots on goal - BECKER 3-8-3 14; UMDM 10-20-11 41.

   Power plays - BECKER 0 of 2; UMDM 5 of 9.

   Penalties - BECKER 11 (22 min); UMDM 4 (8 min).

   Goalies - BECKER, Brandon Melikian 1-3-0 (30:15 minutes, 21
shots-16 saves) , Anthony Oliveira (29:45, 20-17); UMDM, Bruce Maggio
(09:10, 2-2) , Jeff Green 2-0-0 (50:50, 12-12).

   Penalty shots - None.

   A-193  T-2:08