For Immediate Release
Contact Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director, (508) 990-9651  [log in to unmask]
Wednesday, February 15, 2006					 `

UMASS DARTMOUTH  WINS 16TH IN ROW, 6-1

NEW BEDFORD, MA– Senior defenseman D.J. Aucoin Marlboro, MA/Waltham HS) scored twice and added an assist as the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s hockey team took an early lead and went on to defeat Johnson & Wales, 3-2,  in their ECAC Northeast Conference game at the Stephen Hetland Memorial Arena Wednesday evening.

The Corsairs scored three times in the first period. Senior forward P.J. Lovett (North Falmouth, MA/Falmouth HS) fired a shot from the slot high into the net at the 1:48 mark. Senior forwards Mike McPherson (Chelsea, MA/Brewster Academy) and Ian Seaver (Ludlow, MA/Springfield Cathedral HS) assisted.

Seaver made it 2-0 at the 12:07 mark, slamming home the rebound of Aucoin’s shot on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Tyler Crocker (Wakefield, MA/Wakefield HS) also assisted. 

Senior defenseman Dave Cioch (Springfield, MA/New England Jr. Coyotes) made it 3-0 when he scored at the 18:50 mark, 19 seconds after he came out of the penalty box. Junior forward Kyle McCullough (Danvers, MA/Boston Jr. Blackhawks) drew the only assist.

Aucoin struck twice in the second period, converting Seaver’s pass from in front of the net and beating JWU goaltender Marcus Strang at 1:59, then blasting a slap shot past Strang with the Corsairs holding a two-man advantage at the 11:00 mark. Adam Frew scored for the Wildcats, flipping a rebound past UMD freshman goaltender Jeff Green (Medway, MA/Valley Junior Warriors) with JWU on the power play at 13:27. Junior Ray Kirby (Fairhaven, MA/York Stars/.Salem State) responded 14 seconds later for UMass Dartmouth, making it 6-1 with a shot from in front of the net.

“Our team and their team play different styles, and we tried to make it a grinding type of game, and we were able to do that,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “D.J. Aucoin had a great game, playing well in all facets of the game. He jumped up into the offense and didn’t sacrifice anything defensively. In 24 games, we’ve now had five shutouts and given up only one goal eight times.”

The Corsairs out shot JWU, 34-18. Green made 16 saves, and freshman Pat McCarron, who relieved him late in the third period, made one. Strang made 28 saves for the Wildcats.

The Corsairs improved to 20-4-0 and 13-1 in the ECAC Northeast Conference with the victory, winning their 16th game in a row and 17th in their last 18 games. Their winning streak is the longest in the nation at any level. Johnson & Wales fell to 10-13-1 and 8-6-0 in ECAC Northeast play. The Corsairs will return to action when they visit Nichols Saturday evening in their final game of the regular season.

UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY

BOX SCORE

Johnson & Wales				0	1	0-1
UMass Dartmouth       			3	3	0-6

 FIRST PERIOD

1, UMD – P.J. Lovett (Mike McPherson, Ian Seaver) 1:48
2, UMD – Ian Seaver (D.J. Aucoin, Tyler Crocker) 12:07 PPG
3, UMD – Dave Cioch (Kyle McCullough) 18:50

SECOND PERIOD

4, UMD – D.J. Aucoin (Ian Seaver, Mike McPherson) 1:59
5, UMD – D.J. Aucoin (Tyler Crocker, Ian Seaver) 11:00 PPG
6, JWU – Adam Frew (Nick Yetten) 13:27 PPG
7, UMD – Ray Kirby (Peter Lindner, Eric Frank) 13:41

THIRD PERIOD

None

SHOTS: JWU- 18; UMD -34.
SAVES: JWU – Marcus Strang, 28; UMD –Jeff Green, 16, Pat McCarron, 1, Total, 17.
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  JWU – 7/14; UMD – 4/8.
POWER-PLAY GOALS/OPPORTUNITIES:  JWU- 1/4; UMD – 2/8.