Posted: Jan 12, 2013
Junior Charlie McGinnis(Hanover, Mass.) and freshman Mike Pantano(Bridgewater, Mass.) each netted a goal and an assist, while freshman Brandon Smolarek(Chesterfield, Mo.) stopped 41 of 42 shots in net to lead Suffolk to a 4-1 non-league college ice hockey victory over Brockport Saturday afternoon at Steriti Rink.
Markers by McGinnis and freshman Mike Cherpak(Enfield, Conn.) in the first 7:05 of play staked the host Rams (5-6-3) to an early 2-0 advantage, and the score remained the same until Pantano's tally 6:07 into the final frame extended that margin to 3-0. Junior Brendon Rothfuss(Webster, N.Y.) got the visiting Golden Eagles (4-11-1) on the board with a power play goal just 2:40 later, but sophomore Tim Sprague(Plymouth, Mass.) iced Suffolk's triumph with an empty net marker that came with 11 seconds remaining to account for the final score.
Freshman Tyler Murray(Houston, Tex.) added a pair of assists in the win for the hosts, who also received single helpers off the sticks of freshmen Shaughn Shields(Woodbridge, Va.) and Carmen Mastrangelo(Wellington, Fla.), while senior Mike Hayward(Toronto, Ont.) and freshman Jesse Fachini(Mississauga, Ont.) collected the assists on Rothfuss's goal in the setback for the visitors.
Smolarek made 33 saves over the final two periods of play, including 15 stops in the second stanza and 18 in the final period, to pick up his second career victory for Suffolk, while sophomore Aaron Green(Mt. Albert, Ont.) made 20 saves in the setback for Brockport as the Golden Eagles outshot the Rams by a 42-24 margin for the contest.
Suffolk hosts Manhattanville in a non-league outing on Tuesday evening at Steriti Rink that faces off at 6:25 p.m., while Brockport hosts Buffalo State in a State University of New York Athletic Conference match-up on Friday evening that begins at 7:00 p.m.