For Immediate Release
Contact Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director, (508) 990-9651  [log in to unmask]
Tuesday, March 4, 2008					

HOCKEY SET TO HOST FITCHBURG STATE IN ECAC NORTHEAST SEMI-FINAL

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-After receiving votes in a national poll for the first time since they were ranked 13th in November, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's hockey team will try to take another step towards their third consecutive Eastern College Athletic Conference Northeast championship when they host a semi-final playoff game Wednesday evening. The Corsairs will host Fitchburg State at 7:30 p.m. at the Stephan Hetland Memorial Ice Arena.

UMass Dartmouth entered the playoffs as the second-seeded team, but is now the highest remaining seed after they defeated Salve Regina Saturday, 5-2, while the Falcons won at top-seeded Curry, 7-2. The Corsairs enter Wednesday’s game with an overall record of 16-8-1, while FSC is 13-9-4. The two teams met twice during the season, with UMass Dartmouth winning a non-conference game at Fitchburg’s Wallace Civic Center November 28th, 6-2, then downing the Falcons at Hetland in an ECAC NE game, 6-1 February 2nd.

UMass Dartmouth received votes in a poll this week for the first time since the first semester when they received votes in the USCHO.com Division III Poll. The Corsairs and Finlandia each received two votes and were tied for the fifth highest number of votes among teams also receiving votes, which is equivalent to being tied for 19th nationally.

Junior forward Nick Paquin (Warwick, RI/Winchendon Academy) and freshman forward Joe Hill (Newburyport, MA/Valley Jr. Warriors) each scored twice in Saturday’s UMass Dartmouth victory, while goaltender Devan McConnell made 54 saves for Fitchburg State against Curry. McConnell, who was chased after 26:03 in the February 2nd game, has dropped seven consecutive games to the Corsairs since he made 42 saves in a 504 overtime win at Fitchburg November 30th, 2005.

“Our seniors have an overall record of 64-7 in ECAC Northeast regular season and playoff games,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “We’re looking forward to Wednesday’s game.”

If the Corsairs win, they will host the ECAC Northeast Championship game against either Suffolk or Nichols Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the Hetland Ice Arena. The winner of the tournament will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.


UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY