For Immediate Release
Contact Dave Geringer, Sports Information Director, (508) 990-9651  dgeringer@umassd.edu

Thursday, December 29, 2005                                                    

     UMASS DARTMOUTH DOWNS SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE, 5-1

BOSTON, MA–The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth hockey team took an early lead and freshman goaltender Jon Dryjowicz-Burek (Ludlow, MA/Springfield Jr. Falcons) made it stand up as the Corsairs defeated Southern New Hampshire, 5-1, in the championship game of the 41st annual Codfish Bowl at the Clark Athletic Center Thursday evening.

Dryjowicz-Burek, who stopped 23 of 24 shots by the Penmen, allowed two goals in the tournament’s two games and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

He was at his best in the first period, stopping five shots from right in front of the net, including superb saves on Dominic DiMarzo and Chris White of the Penmen. Meanwhile, UMD drew first blood, as junior forward Jim Foley (Brockton, MA/Catholic Memorial HS) drove home a rebound of a shot by junior forward Kyle McCullough (Danvers, MA/Boston Jr. Blackhawks) at the 3:27 mark of the opening period. Sophomore forward Jeff Grant (Burlington, MA/Austin Prep HS) also assisted.

UMass Dartmouth pulled away in the second period. With Josh Goodman of SNHU in the penalty box, Grant hit the post from point-blank range, then converted a McCullough feed a moment later to make it 2-0. Freshman forward Chris Shore (West Haven, CT/Winchendon Academy) pounced on a loose puck and slid it past SNHU goaltender Matt Courchesne at the 10:07 mark of the second period to make it 3-0, with sophomore defenseman Brian Chapin (Medway, MA/Medway HS) and freshman forward Nick Paquin (Warwick, RI/Winchendon Academy) assisting.

Brent Bousquet of the Penmen took a pass from Bill Ross and fired home a rising slap shot from the right circle at 13:38 to cut the Corsairs’ advantage to 3-1. Less than five minutes later, Paquin scored the first goal of his career, driving home his own rebound at 18:14. Senior forwards Mike McPherson (Chelsea, MA/Brewster Academy) and P.J. Lovett (North Falmouth, MA/Falmouth HS) drew assists.

Junior forward Ray Kirby (Fairhaven, MA/Salem State) scored a power play goal at 15:46 of the third period to wrap up the scoring. Kirby deflected home a slap shot by junior defenseman Paul Carr (Springfield, MA/Springfield Cathedral HS).

“I don’t know that I could say I expected this, to win the Codfish Bowl championship in our first appearance,” said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach John Rolli. “Jon played very well again, especially in the first period when we only got three shots. He’s played very well for us all year long. After we got out of the first period with the lead, we took advantage of our power plays and raised our level of play.”

UMass Dartmouth out shot Connecticut College, 24-17. Courchesne made 12 saves for SNHU. McCullough and senior forward Eric Frank (Waltham, MA/Traverse City Enforcers) represented the Corsairs on the All-Tournament Team.

UMD improved to 8-4-0 with the victory, while Southern New Hampshire fell to 7-3-3. The Corsairs will return to action when they visit Assumption Saturday evening, January 7th.

UMASS DARTMOUTH HOCKEY

BOX SCORE

UMass-Dartmouth                 1          3          1-5

Southern New Hampshire     0          1          0-1

FIRST PERIOD

1, UMD – Jim Foley (3) Kyle McCullough, Jeff Grant 3:27

SECOND PERIOD
2, UMD- Jeff Grant (6) Kyle McCullough 3:26 PPG

3, UMD – Chris Shore (3) Brian Chapin, Nick Paquin 10:07
4, SNHU -  Brent Bousquet (4) Bill Ross 13:38
5, UMD – Nick Paquin (1) Mike McPherson, P.J. Lovett 18:14

THIRD PERIOD

6, UMD-Ray Kirby (Paul Carr) 15:46 PPG

Shots: Southern New Hampshire 24, UMass Dartmouth 17.

Saves: Southern New Hampshire, Matt Courchesne, 12; UMass Dartmouth, Jon Dryjowicz-Burek, 23.

Penalties: Southern New Hampshire, 7 for 14 minutes, UMass Dartmouth, 6 for 20 minutes.

Power Plays: Southern New Hampshire, 0 for 5, UMass Dartmouth, 2 for 7.

Team Records: Southern New Hampshire, 7-3-3, UMass Dartmouth, 8-4-0.

TOURNAMENT AWARDS

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

MVP-Jon Dryjowicz-Burek, UMass Dartmouth

Kyle McCullough, UMass Dartmouth

Eric Frank, UMass Dartmouth
Martin Stehl, SNHU

Ryan Deery, SNHU

Michael Muolo, UMass Boston
Rob Campbell, Connecticut College

Lawrence F. Curran Award-Chris White, SNHU