Gorham, ME - A third period rally propelled the Saint Joseph's College Monks to a 8-6 win over the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers.
The Monks struck early in the first period, with Zach Graham (Marlborough, Mass.) finishing off a nice passing play with assists from Ryan Berard (Millville, Mass.) and Jason Riley (Dedham, Mass.). A little over two minutes later, Peter Hurley evened things up for the Engineers. It would be Riley would then put the Monks in front, this time with Berard and Graham assisting on the goal. Senior captain Mario Lemieux (Biddeford, Maine) would extend the Monks lead to 3-1. Later, Sean Costa's (Burlington, Mass.) blast would find the back of the net to put Saint Joseph's in front 4-1. The Engineers would pull one back before the end of the period, sending the Monks to the locker room with a two goal lead.
The second period belonged to WPI. The Engineers seized momentum 1:08 into the period, with Hurley adding his second of the game. Ethan Shipulski evened things at four just 3:52 into the period. The Monks were unable to gain momentum as WPI stayed on the attack, earning a 5-4 lead 5:04 into the second frame on Tyler Costello's lead. The Monks struggled to respond as the team would be forced to kill off a five minute penalty. Saint Joseph's would only surrender one goal during the power play, thanks to some key saves from starting net minder Jimmy Riley (Dedham, Mass.). The four goal swing gave the Engineers a 6-4 win after two periods.
Graham added his second of the game early in the third frame to pull the Monks within one. At 11:25, the Monks capitalized on the power play as Marshall Berninghausen (Brasher Falls, N.Y.) beat WPI starter Matt Hill to tie the score at six. Zach Graham got behind the Engineers defense and completed the comeback, scoring the eventual game winner with 4:47 remaining. The goal capped off a hat trick for Graham. Jason Riley would later ice things with an empty net goal.
Jimmy Riley stopped 32 of 38 shots for the win, while Matt Hill made 28 saves for the Engineers. Saint Joseph's improves to 5-1 on the season while the Engineers fall to 2-3. The Monks are next in action against on the road at Smead Arena against Springfield College on Friday December, 4th at 7:00pm.
