Raiders suffer 2nd loss of the season, fall to Mount Ida

(Nashua, NH) Solid goaltending by freshman Clark Plummer keeps the Raiders close but a rough day on the extra-man opportunity (1-9) lead to Rivier's 2nd loss of the season.

In a chippy game that saw 16 penalties the Mount Ida Mustangs offense overpowered the Rivier defense. Mount Ida was off to a 2-0 start after they scored their first goal of the afternoon shorthanded with 6:13 remaining in the first quarter by Phil Pichel assisted by Michael Trocchi. Trocchi led the Mustangs with 3 goals and 7 assists in the matinee contest. Mount Ida struck again with a goal by Jake Davis. Continuing to battle in the first quarter the Raiders responded with a goal by freshman David Bray (West Suffield, CT) assisted by Mike Arricale (Billerica, MA). Bray would also have a 50% day in the faceoff circle (5-10).

The Raiders would continue their scoring roll in the second quarter with an unassisted Brandon Hanifin (Tewksbury, MA) goal. A minute and a half later junior Danny Hooper (Wakefield, RI) notched his first of two goals on the afternoon. Following up was the lone goal one the man up with a goal by freshman Kyle Graham (Londonderry, NH). Graham would also have 8 groundballs in the Raider's defensive effort. Mount Ida would respond with 3 goals in the last 5 minutes of the half.

The Rivier offense would struggle in the second half only able to muster 2 goals for the rest of the afternoon. Danny Hooper scored his with 4:28 left in the 3rd and Robert Auer (Salem, NH) scored his off an assist by Hanifin with 5 minutes remaining in the game. The Raiders were outscored 6-2 in the second half and outshot 27-12. Clark Plummer led the Raider's defense and kept the Raiders in the contest with 25 saves.

With the loss the Raiders fall to 4-2 on the season (0-1 GNAC) and return to action Tuesday when they will face GNAC opponent Anna Maria at home on Raider Field. With the win the Mustangs of Mount Ida improve to 2-4 and will face Daniel Webster next on Tuesday.