MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior
Richie Colarusso (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal with under five minutes left in regulation and followed it up with the game-winner less than a minute into overtime to give the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Assumption in the Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) Men's Ice Hockey Championship Semifinals on Saturday night. It was the first multi-goal game in the career of Colarusso, who sends the #1 seed Hawks back to the NE10 title game for the second time in the last three seasons.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm advances to the 2025 NE10 Men's Ice Hockey Championship Finals on Saturday, March 1st. They will host #2 seed Saint Michael's at 4:00 p.m. from the Sullivan Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 3, Assumption 2 (Final - Overtime)
Records: Saint Anselm (18-9-2); Assumption (13-19-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Thomas F. Sullivan Arena)
Date: Saturday, February 22nd, 2025
Attendance: 587
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Assumption went on the power play two minutes into the game after Saint Anselm had a player sent to the penalty box for boarding. The Hawks successfully killed off the penalty after only giving up one shot on goal.
- The Greyhounds kept the pressure on and fired six of the game's next seven shots on goal, but Hawks sophomore goaltender Cam Carroll (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) kept the game scoreless with a bunch of saves.
- Saint Anselm outshot Assumption, 5-3, over the final 10 minutes of the first period, but neither side found the back of the net as the game remained 0-0 heading into the second.
- The Greyhounds came out of the intermission with the upper hand to start the second period. They outshot the Hawks,12-6, over the first nine minutes of play.
- Carroll did all he could by turning aside the first nine shots he faced in the period for Saint Anselm, but Ryan Decker eventually broke through to put Assumption ahead, 1-0. Jonathan Surrette blocked a shot at one end and took it up ice on a 2-on-1 rush. His initial shot was saved by Carroll, but he passed the rebound over to Decker, who finished into an open net to give the Greyhounds the lead.
- The Hawks nearly answered at the other end, but had two shots ring off the pipe less than a minute apart. Junior Michael Martignetti (Winchester, Mass.) ripped one that caught the right post and 50 seconds later, senior Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) sent a shot off the cross-bar.
- Saint Anselm started to shift the momentum in search of the game-tying goal. They pinned Assumption in deep and rattled off seven straight shots on goal, but Greyhounds goaltender Thomas McLarnon kept his team in the lead with some timely saves.
- With five minutes left in the second, the visitors were able to catch their breath by finally clearing the puck out of their own zone. However, it took an unlucky bounce over the stick of a Hawks defender at center ice. Leo Piandes tracked it down for the Greyhounds, skated in on goal, and finished with the backhand to make it a 2-0 game.
- Saint Anselm provided a quick response as junior Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.) found the back of the net with less than two minutes to go in the second. After a scramble in front of the cage, senior Max Burum (Marshfield, Mass.) ended up with the puck and sent a pass over to Alberti. His one-timer from along the goal line cut the deficit to 2-1.
- The Hawks forced four more saves out of McLarnon in the final minute of the second, but they still trailed by a goal heading into the third.
- After Assumption had two shots on goal denied by Carroll to open the final period of play, Saint Anselm took full control. Over the next 10 minutes of action, the Hawks attempted 11 of the game's next 12 shots on goal and saw another shot draw iron. The home team also went on the power play, but they failed to slot one past McLarnon as the score remained 2-1 with under eight minutes left.
- With less than six minutes remaining, things were looking bleak as the Hawks faced a 5-on-3 shorthanded situation after having players sent off with a major penalty for spearing and a bench minor penalty for too many players on the ice.
- After a couple saves during the penalty kill by Carroll, Colarusso intercepted the puck at the blue line and took it the other way for Saint Anselm. He skated in all alone on a breakaway and forced the puck through the legs of McLarnon and over the goal line to tie the score at 2-2 with 4:22 on the clock.
- There were a number of chances in the final minutes of regulation. The Hawks pumped five shots on target over the final two minutes, but McLarnon stopped the bleeding for the Greyhounds as the game headed to a 5-on-5 sudden death overtime period.
- Saint Anselm took control of the puck in the offensive zone to begin the extra frame. Junior Luke Linart (Holland, Mich.) skated around the zone and sent a cross-ice pass to Colarusso, who was alone on the back side and tucked in the game-winning goal just 53 seconds into overtime.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm outshot Assumption in the game, 47-36. The Hawks recorded 19 shots on goal in both the second and third periods and attempted the only shot on goal by either team in overtime. The Greyhounds totaled at least 10 shots on goal in every period.
- Brackett and Martignetti led the Hawks with six shots on goal apiece. Jake DiNapoli led the Greyhounds with a game-high seven shots on goal.
- After a scoreless first period, Assumption scored the first two goals of the game in the second. Saint Anselm responded with late goals in the second and third before winning it early in overtime.
- The Hawks were in control at the dot with 41 faceoff wins out of 75 draws (54.7 percent). The Greyhounds won the remaining 34 out of 75 (45.3 percent) in the faceoff circle.
- Burum led the Hawks with 12 faceoff wins out of 29 attempts (41.4 percent), while senior Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.) and freshman Brendan Manning (Chandler, Ariz.) each won 11 faceoffs for the home team. Ronny Paragallo led the Greyhounds with a game-high 15 faceoff wins out of 26 attempts (57.7 percent).
- On the defensive side, Assumption blocked 22 shots in the contest, while Saint Anselm blocked seven shots. Martignetti led the Hawks with two blocks, while Surrette led the Greyhounds with a game-high five blocked shots.
- Both teams were held scoreless on four combined power play opportunities. Assumption posted seven shots on goal during three power play chances, while Saint Anselm tallied three shots on goal during their lone attempt on the man advantage.
- The Hawks scored a shorthanded goal while down two players late in the third period to tie the score and send it to overtime.
- Colaursso scored twice for the Hawks for the first time in his career. He tied it with a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal late in the third before winning it less than a minute into overtime with his second career game-winning goal. Colarusso increased his totals to six goals and 12 points on the year, which are all single season career-highs.
- Alberti also scored for Saint Anselm. It was his 14th goal of the season, which is second on the team and in the NE10.
- Burum extended his point streak to five games with an assist in the contest. He has three goals and five assists for eight points during that span. Burum is now tied with Brackett for the team lead with 20 assists on the season. His 20 helpers are tied for second-most in the NE10 and his 28 points are third-most in the conference.
- Linart, Reynolds, and freshmen Hunter Hoffman (Stevensville, Md.) and Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.) each recorded one assist in the game for the Hawks.
- Decker and Piandes each scored once for Assumption, while three other players recorded an assist for the Greyhounds.
- Carroll made 34 saves in goal for the Hawks in the win. McLarnon stopped 44 shots in goal for the Greyhounds in the loss.
- This marked the 59th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Assumption. The Hawks improve to 38-18-3 against the Greyhounds in the series that began in 1969.
STAY CONNECTED:
