RWU Rallies Past Men’s Ice Hockey Late, 5-3

FALL RIVER, Mass. – In a back-and-forth affair, Roger Williams came back and scored three unanswered to take down Suffolk men's ice hockey, 5-3, in Conference of New England (CNE) action Tuesday night at Driscoll Arena. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Roger Williams 5
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-6-1, 5-2-1 CNE) | Roger Williams (5-8-0, 3-5-0 CNE) 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• After a scoreless first period, Suffolk broke through just 70 seconds into the second frame as Nolan Leonard slipped a backhand pass to Michael Gallagher. Gallagher's slapshot caromed off the goalkeeper and landed on the stick of Marko Giourof, who tapped it home to give the Rams a 1-0 lead.
• Roger Williams responded at the 8:30 mark with a power play goal from JJ Alger. The Hawks then grabbed the lead later in the period as Bo Clark finished in front to send RWU into the final period ahead 2-1.
• Suffolk evened the score on the power play as Gallagher ripped a snipe from the blue line, set up by quick puck movement from Giourof and Aidan O'Connell to knot the game at 2-2 with just under 15 minutes remaining.
• The Rams reclaimed the lead as Josh Milso kept the puck alive in the Hawks' zone and picked out Gallagher, whose shot toward the net was redirected in front by Giourof to put the Rams back in front 3-2 at the 8:53 mark.
• The Hawks answered exactly one minute later, capitalizing on a defensive-zone turnover as TJ Sullivan blasted a one-timer into the top left corner to even the game at 3-3.
• Daxton St. Hilaire put the Hawks in the driver's seat with just under five minutes remaining, as Roger Williams caught Suffolk in a line change and St. Hilaire slipped a shot under the blocker to take a 4-3 lead.
• Alger later sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 14 seconds remaining. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Austin McNicholas made 14 saves in net for the Rams.
• Jacon Jaslow stopped 37 shots in the contest.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Giourof had two goals and one helper and Gallagher's own three-point stat line mirrored that.
• O'Connell, Milso, and Leonard each dished out one helper.
• Suffolk nearly doubled Roger Williams in shots on goal, 40-21.
• The Rams went 1-for-3 on the power play. 
• The blue-and-gold commanded the face off dot, 50-23.  

NOTEWORTHY 

• Giourof stretched his point streak to five game and now has 16 points on the season. He posted the first three-point game of his career and has totaled six goals and four assists during the streak. He tied a career-high two strikes.
• Leonard extended his point streak to eight games, recording one goal and 10 assists over that span.
• Gallagher registered his first three-point output, scoring his second goal of the season, while rewriting a personal-best two assists.
• O'Connell moved to four helpers on the campaign and has recorded a helper in back-to-back games.
• Milso notched his fourth assist of the season and 20th of his career.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will play a home-and-home series with No. 7 University of New England, who sits atop the CNE standings. The Rams head to Biddeford, Maine Friday, Jan. 9 for a 7:00 p.m. showdown, and close out the series in Eastie Saturday, Jan. 10 at 6:00 p.m.