BOX SCORE 

When and Where: February 9, 2018 – Hooksett, N.H. (The Ice Den)
Score: Southern New Hampshire University 6, Stonehill College 2
Records: SNHU 11-6-3 (5-5-2 Northeast-10), Stonehill 6-15-2 (4-8-1)

Senior Chris Moquin (Hooksett, N.H.) registered his second career hat trick on Friday to lead the Southern New Hampshire University ice hockey team to a 6-2 victory over Stonehill College in Northeast-10 Conference action at the Ice Den.

Senior Timothy Baylis (West Haven, Conn.) added three points in the win, while sophomores Brett Strawn (Wareham, Mass.) and Jared Goudreau (Manchester, N.H.) joined freshman Steven Dumond (Seekonk, Mass.) with a pair of points apiece.

The Penmen raced out to an early 1-0 lead, as Moquin put the hosts on the board less than a minute into the contest. The Skyhawks' goaltender ventured out of his cage to retrieve a Southern New Hampshire dump in behind the net before leaving it for a defender. As the Stonehill defenseman began to move from beneath the goal line, Moquin picked his pocket and wrapped it into an open net just 47 seconds in.

The score remained unchanged for the ensuing six-plus minutes until Christopher Page brought the Skyhawks even. Nicholas Godin collected a feed from Tommy Mahoney and after his shot was initially stopped, Page crashed the net and punched the rebound home short-side to reset the contest with 12:41 remaining in the first.

After the two teams went into the locker room with the score knotted at one, the Penmen opened the second in similar fashion to the first with a Moquin marker in the opening minute to move in front by one. Moquin collected a feed from senior Matt McLelland (Reading, Mass.) at the red line before moving through the neutral zone and leaving the puck for Strawn at the offensive blue line. Strawn snapped a shot towards the net, and a cutting Moquin redirected it in the slot to the back of net to reestablish a one-goal advantage 39 seconds in. The lead doubled just over 90 seconds later when Baylis swiped the puck from a Stonehill defender at the top of the slot and rifled a shot past the blocker of Billy Palmer to put the game out of reach with 17:44 left in the stanza.

The Skyhawks would trim the deficit back to a single goal midway through the second, but Southern New Hampshire posted a three-goal third period to seal the victory. Moquin opened the scoring for the third consecutive period with help from Strawn and sophomore DJ Goldstein (Wareham, Mass.) at 3:52 before Dumond tacked on his second of the year 1:02 later. Goudreau capped the game's scoring with 3:19 left regulation with his eighth to provide the final margin of scoring.

Sophomore Kurt Gutting (Weymouth, Mass.) earned his sixth win of the season after steering aside 36 shots. Palmer was saddled with the loss after recording 28 saves. 

Notes:
- Friday's victory ensures the Penmen will finish the season with a record above .500 for the first time since the 2013-14 season.  
- Stonehill held a 38-34 edge in shots on goal, however, SNHU outshot the Skyhawks 23-22 over the final 40 minutes of play.
- Southern New Hampshire moved within two points of clinching a postseason berth for the second time in three seasons. The Penmen can secure a spot in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship with a win over the Skyhawks Saturday.
- SNHU will honor its eight graduating seniors in a pregame ceremony prior to Saturday's home finale against the Skyhawks.

What's Next:
The two teams will complete their weekend series Saturday at the Ice Den at 3:20 p.m.

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