WESTON, Mass. – A total of 13 different SJC players scored to help propel Saint Joseph's College (10-7, 8-2 GNAC) past Regis College (3-11, 0-10 GNAC), 18-4, in what was the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season finale for both programs on Tuesday evening.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the win, Saint Joseph's clinches the #4 seed in the GNAC Tournament and will host #5 Dean College in a conference quarterfinal, date TBD. For Regis, the loss signals the end of the 2023 campaign.
FOR THE RECORD:
Senior Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) broke the Monks' single-season goals record when he netted his second tally of the night at the 10:44 mark of the first quarter. Michaud entered tonight's game with 49 markers - one shy of the SJC season high set by Michael Finn '19 in 2018 - and tied the record when he scored the Monks' first goal just 27 seconds into the conference contest. The senior attack, who netted his third goal of the evening with 3:27 left in the fourth, has scored 52 goals in 17 games this spring.
Junior Scott Lynch (Gray, Maine) was credited with the assist on Michaud's record breaking goal.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Monks held a 5-0 lead after the first quarter and headed into halftime with an 11-0 advantage. Sophomore Calvin Heline (Amesbury, Mass.) and Lynch both scored man-up markers to kick off the third quarter to make it a 13-0 game before the Pride finally got on the board with a Nick Klein score with 5:31 left in the penultimate period.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (57-21), shots on goal (40-9), ground balls (41-26), caused turnovers (14-7), and face-off wins (13-11) in tonight's triumph. The Monks committed just 16 turnovers while the Pride turned the ball over on 33 occasions.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC senior Brannon Gilbert (Gray, Maine) improved to 9-4 on the season after stopping the only shot he faced in the first half. Sophomore Liam Greene (Mansfield, Mass.) allowed four goals and made four saves in the second half.
Regis also split time in the cage, as Robby Fuller yielded 11 goals with 12 saves in the first half and Devin Hammon posted 10 stops with seven goals allowed in the second stanza.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Michaud scored three goals on five shots and added an assist
- Lynch scored twice with an assist and two ground balls
- Freshman Tiger Hopkins (Leeds, Maine) added a goal and three assists
- Freshman David Cook (Upton, Mass.) chipped in with a goal and two assists
- Senior Noah Tierney-Honan (Dracut, Mass.) and freshman Matt Denman (Brentwood, N.H.) scored two goals apiece
- Sophomore Anthony Samiotes (Hampstead, N.H.) picked up four ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers
- Senior Nick Koufos (Loudon, N.H.) added three ground balls and three caused turnovers
- Freshman Nick DeLeo (Saco, Maine) was 4-for-5 on face-off attempts while junior Ian Barker (Norton, Mass.) went 5-for-12 and senior Ethan Richard (Litchfield, Maine) was 4-for-7 on the dot
LEADERS – REGIS:
- Klein, Connor Deveau, Ryan Richardson, and Brendan Cook scored goals for the hosts
- Colin McGarry added an assist with four ground balls and five caused turnovers and Thomas Crater picked up five ground balls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-1 all-time versus Regis College and has now defeated the Pride in four-consecutive meetings.
