by Jim Mullins
Assistant Director
Sports Information
2001

Corsairs finish 5th in ECAC Northeast to qualify for 19th straight ECAC playoff appearance

(Dartmouth, MA) - At 15-9-2 overall and 10-5-2 good for fifth in the ECAC Northeast, UMass Dartmouth earned its 19th consecutive invitation to the ECAC playoffs and 17th bid in as many seasons under Coach John Rolli.

Although eliminated by Lebanon Valley College with a 3-1 loss in the quarterfinals, UMass Dartmouth's post-season record of success continued with its 20th tournament invitation in the Corsairs' last 21 seasons, dating back to the 1980-81 season.

Despite a couple of key injuries throughout the season, the Corsairs came up with solid efforts from several returning veterans along with some important contributions from newcomers to the program.

Junior forward Tom Brown (Framingham, MA) had another outstanding season for the Corsairs, leading UMass Dartmouth in virtually every scoring area. Brown was tops in points with 40, including a team leading 19 goals, plus 21 assists. In 25 games, Brown had 91 shots on goal and finished with one short-handed goal and one game-winning score. His 1.24 goals per game in the ECAC Northeast tied him for 24th in the scoring race.

Junior forward Sean Young (Waltham, MA) finished second in scoring with 15 goals and 14 assists for 29 points, including 3 shorthanded (tie 4th in ECAC NE) and 4 short handed goals (tie 5th ECAC NE). Junior forward Sean Alles (Brockton, MA) was third at 8-17-25. Rounding out the Corsairs' other top scorers were first-year forward Shawn Sheehan (Medford, MA) (10-14-24), who was ranked 8th among freshman scorers in the ECAC NE, sophomore forward Jared Spencer (Arlington, MA) (11-13-24) and freshman forward Chris Dussault (Billerica, MA) (8-11-19).

On of the season's biggest surprises was the crucial role played by junior goalie Kim Clark (Gardner, MA) early in the season. Originally slated as the backup behind freshman Ryan Grant (Burlington, MA), Clark was forced into the starting lineup after an injury to Grant. In 8 games for the Corsairs, Clark posted a 4-1-1 overall record with a 3.88 goals against average and a .877 saves percentage.

Grant eventually returned to the starting lineup and carried the bulk of the Corsairs' goaltending chores. Grant appeared in 20 game with an 11-8-1 record, a 3.16 goals against average and a .907 saves percentage along with a shutout to his credit. Grant finished fourth in the ECAC Northeast with a .909 saves percentage in ECAC action and sixth with a 3.11 GAA.

The Corsairs posted an 8-4-1 record on their home ice at Hetland Arena in New Bedford and played to a 7-5-1 mark on the road. The Corsairs played four overtime games, finishing with a pair of 5-4 wins over New Hampshire College and Fitchburg State, while settling for 3-3 ties with St. Michael's College and Johnson and Wales University.

As a team within the ECAC NE, UMass Dartmouth finished sixth in goal scoring at 4.04 goals per game and fifth on defense allowing 3.46 per game. UMass Dartmouth's penalty killing unit finished third overall with an 84.6% mark.