DiGiulio, Uola lead Greyhounds past Saint Michael's (4-2) in Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey quarterfinal

February 24, 2007

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vermont --- Freshman goalie JAMIE DI GIULIO (Peabody, MA/Tilton, NH School) made 54 saves to backbone Assumption College past Saint Michael's College, 4-2, in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference ice hockey playoffs here SATURDAY at the Cairns Arena.

Another freshman, left wing ATTE UOLA (Turku, Finland/Holderness School) (pictured right)---the leading scorer in the Northeast-10 Conference among freshmen (13-11--24)---scored two goals to lead the offense.

The victory, the Ice Dogs first-ever on-the-road in the conference playoffs, moves them into the semifinal round at No. 2 seeded Stonehill College Wednesday. Faceoff for that game is slated for 7:20 p.m. at the Bridgewater, MA Arena. In the other quarterfinal game Southern New Hampshire defeated Franklin Pierce, 4-2.

The championship series (two games and mini-game, if necessary) is slated for March 2-3 at Saint Anselm College's Thomas F. Sullivan Arena. The Ice Dogs defeated Stonehill (4-3) and tied the Skyhawks (3-3) in their two meetings this season.

"Jamie was truly outstanding for us today," said Ice Dogs head coach KEVIN ZIFCAK. "He has really played exceptional goal for us over the last few weeks and was the difference in this game."

DiGiulio, named the Northeast-10 Conference Player-, Goalie-, and Freshman-of-the-Week last week, will be a prime candidate again this week with his performance. He made a whopping 26 saves in the second period alone as the Ice Dogs whitewashed five Purple Knight power play opportunities.

The Ice Dogs, now 7-17-2 overall, are playing their best hockey of the season, posting a 5-4-2 record over their last 11 games. The victory also avenged an early season 6-0 loss at Saint Michael's (12/20/06). Saint Michael's finished at 6-20 overall.

Uola opened the scoring for the Ice Dogs with two first-period goals. His first goal came at 7:08 on a wrist shot off assists from both linemates, junior right wing JIM TRAHON (Needham, MA/Needham) and junior center MATT PAGET (Hingham, MA/Hingham).

At 16:46 Uola again beat Saint Michael's senior goalkeeper ERIK SMITH (Warwick, RI/Hill, PA School) to glove side.

"Atte is going to be a standout performer in this conference," continued Zifcak. "He has improved and gained confidence all season and over the last dozen games has taken on a leadership role for our offense."

The second period proved to be the last shot for the Purple Knights as they dominated the action, outshooting the Ice Dogs, 26-11, and scoring both of their goals.

Sophomore CHRIS HEALEY (Salem, NH/N.H. Jr. Monarchs) beat DiGiulio on a straight away wrist shot just 1:35 into the period to cut the Ice Dogs advantage to 2-1.

The Ice Dogs however came right back, just 42 seconds later, to make it a two-goal affair once again as sophomore center FRANK BOVA (Princeton, MA/Wachusett) took a pass from junior left wing JOHN ROUTHIER (Malden, MA/Malden Catholic) and snapped off a wrist shot that beat Smith high to the pad side for a 3-1 advantage.

The Purple Knights would claw back into the game at 17:31 of the period as sophomore forward RYAN MERO (Peekskill, NY/Avone Old Farms) scored an unassisted goal.

Junior right wing PATRICK CIUMMO (Harrisville, RI/Mt. St. Charles) scored an empty netter with 17 seconds left to close out the scoring in the third period.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME SUMMARY

ICE DOGS GOALKEEPER SAVE LEADERS (Minimum 50)

Goalie (Saves) Opponent

Al MUCCI (69) vs. Fitchburg State, 2-27-79

Charlie ROY (65) vs. Worcester State, 2-16-72

Charlie ROY (61) vs. Worcester State, 12-6-72

Gary MC CARTHY (61) at Bryant, 1-26-1977

Larry THOMAS (60) at Babson, 2-7-70

Don MORRISON (59) vs. Worcester State, 1-30-76

Gary MC CARTHY (58) at Holy Cross, 12-8-76

Ron OVERKO (58) at S.M.U., 11-15-86 1986

Sean O'LEARY (57) vs. Saint Anselm (SNHU), 11-27-04

Charlie ROY (54) vs. Bridgewater State, 12-9-72

Jamie DI GIULIO (54) at Saint Michael's, 2-24-07

David PINKHAM (53) at Framingham, 1-19-06

Charlie ROY (53) at A.I.C., 2-24-72

Larry THOMAS (52) vs. Nichols, 1-31-72

Larry THOMAS (52) vs. Bentley, 2-7-72

Charlie ROY (52) at American Int'l., 2-24-72

Charlie ROY (52) vs. WPI, 12-13-72

Charles LANZETTA (51) vs. Holy Cross, 3-6-67

Charles LANZETTA (51) vs. Lowell Tech, 2-10-68

Larry THOMAS (51) at Babson, 2-2-71