Box Score BOX SCORE
When and Where: January 8, 2017 – Walpole, Mass. (Rodman Arena)
Score: No. 13 Salve Regina University 4, Southern New Hampshire University 1
Records: SNHU (11-5-0), SRU (9-2-2)
Senior Jay Sylvia (Acushnet, Mass.) found the back of the net and junior Ryan Slatky (Manchester, N.H.) turned aside 41 shots, but it was not enough to overcome a three-goal deficit as the Southern New Hampshire University ice hockey team fell on the road to Salve Regina University, 4-1.
The game, which was originally scheduled to be played in Portsmouth, Rhode Island on Saturday evening, was moved to Sunday in Walpole, Massachusetts.
After playing over 16 minutes of scoreless hockey, the Seahawks, ranked No. 13 in the most recent USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll, were able to grab a 1-0 edge late in the first. Evan Schultz tallied his seventh goal of the season with 3:28 left in the opening stanza from Jonathan Felteau and Jack Billings, and Salve Regina carried a one-goal lead into the intermission.
The trio of Felteau, Billings and Shultz struck again midway through the second to double the Seahawks' advantage. Billings and Shultz setup Felteau at 8:53 to make it 2-0, and the Penmen deficit increased to three goals just 16 seconds later when Chase Hatcher potted his second with help from Felteau and Billings.
Southern New Hampshire responded less than four minutes later and looked to seize momentum heading into the third. Sylvia notched his 10th of the year with 7:34 to play in the middle stanza on the powerplay from graduate student Joe Collins (Mansfield, Mass.) and junior Kyle Valliere (Goffstown, N.H.), and the Penmen went into the final 20 minutes of regulation chasing a pair.
It would be as close as Southern New Hampshire would get, however, as Billings capped off a four-point evening with a powerplay strike from Shultz and Nick Owen to give the hosts a 4-1 triumph.
Blake Wojtala earned the win between the pipes for Salve Regina after making 26 saves, while Shultz and Felteau turned in multipoint nights with a goal and two assists apiece.
Notes:
- The Seahawks held a 45-27 edge in shots on goal, including a 28-15 advantage over the final two periods of play.
- Slatky stopped over 40 shots for the seventh time this season. In two-plus years, Slatky has registered 40-plus saves 14 times.
- The Penmen were 1-for-6 on the powerplay while Salve Regina was 1-for-5 with the man advantage. SRU was assessed 14 minutes worth of penalties on seven infractions, and Southern New Hampshire was hit for 13 minutes on five misdeeds.
- Sunday's setback marks the second two-game skid of the season for the Penmen. Southern New Hampshire last lost two-straight during the 2016 Manchester PAL/Stovepipe Tournament against the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Suffolk University. That two-game slide also came on the heels of a five-game winning streak and occurred during an academic recess.
What's Next:
Southern New Hampshire looks to get back on track Thursday (January 12) when it heads to Becker College for a 7:40 p.m. contest against the Hawks. he next home game for the Penmen is January 14, when they host Northeast-10 Conference foe Assumption College at the SNHU.edu Arena at noon. For tickets, CLICK HERE
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