Great Neck, N.Y. - The St. Thomas Aquinas College Ice Hockey team advanced to Sunday's Metropolitian Collegiate Hockey Conference Championship Final with a 6-3 victory over Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink.
STAC moves to 15-5-1 with the semifinal round victory over the Ducks.
Neven Grubic, Conner Suthard, Kevin Vitiello, Devin Niccoll, Jeremy Poggi and Nicholas Delia tallied a goal apiece for the Spartans in the contest. In net, Michael Pippo (W, 10-3-1) made 26 stops to help the maroon and gold move on in the postseason.
Game Summary
First Period Scoring Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - Sam Bunis (Tyler Buss) 8:20.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - Neven Grubic (Tim Downs, James Guild) 3:04, Conner Suthard (Devin Niccoll, Daniel McKeon) 8:56.
First Period Penalty Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - Tom Bissaillon (Cross-Checking/2:00 Minor) 10:32.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - John Brennan (Interference/2:00 Minor) 9:44, Devin Niccoll (Roughing/2:00 Minor) 19:35.
Second Period Scoring Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - Tyler Buss (Dylan Faulhaber) 2:10/PP, Bernard Vitale (Dylan Faulhaber) 12:49.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - Kevin Vitiello (Jeremy Poggi) 4:24, Devin Niccoll (Conner Suthard, Daniel McKeon) 16:39.
Second Period Penalty Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - Nick Adams (Slashing/2:00 Minor) 3:00.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - William Thyberg (Elbowing/5:00 Major) 1:33.
Third Period Scoring Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - No Scoring.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - Jeremy Poggi (Unassisted) 18:32, Nicholas Delia (Unassisted) 17:07.
Third Period Penalty Summary
Stevens Institute of Technology - Tyler Buss (Roughing/2:00 Minor) 19:28.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - John Brennan (Roughing/2:00 Minor) 11:34.
Goalies
Stevens Institute of Technology - Connor Ivancik (Loss, 60:00), 27 Saves.
St. Thomas Aquinas College - Michael Pippo (Win, 60:00), 26 Saves.
Shots on Goal
Stevens Institute of Technology - 29
St. Thomas Aquinas College - 33
Up Next
#2 St. Thomas Aquinas College battles top seed Sacred Heart University for the MCHC Championship on Sunday, February 25. The Spartans and Pioneers will face off beginning at 3:30 p.m. at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink in Great Neck, New York. Sacred Heart shutout #4 SUNY Maritime, 3-0, in the other semifinal matchup on Saturday evening.