MANCHESTER, N.H. –
Zack Chouinard had a goal and an assist in his collegiate debut while sophomore
Sean Gray did the same to back a strong effort in goal by
Ben Skelton as the Keene State College men's ice hockey team opened their 2025-2026 season with a 2-1 victory over Division II St. Anselm College on Friday night at Sullivan Arena.
Luke Linart got the Hawks (0-1-0) on the board first with a power play goal just 3:31 in, but that proved to be all the hosts would get past Skelton, as the sophomore stopped 34 shots for a good first impression coming off a rookie season in which he posted a .920 save percentage.
Also impressive? The first collegiate effort for Chouinard, a freshman forward and Canadian native from Trois-Rivières, Quebec. He scored the Owls' (1-0-0) first goal of the season late in the second period to give his team a jolt, capping off a 2-on-1 with a backhand finish off Gray's feed to tie it 1-1. Skelton made a late save to keep it tied going into the second intermission and then denied two more early in the third.
In a penalty-less third period, KSC took the lead for the first time six minutes in when Chouinard pushed Alex Hoitt off the puck behind Tucker Hanson's net and found Gray free alone in front of the left post to rip the twine for his first goal of the season. It is the second consecutive year the sophomore Lowell, Mass. native scored in the season opener. He also finished strong last season, scoring three goals over the Owls' last five games.
Sean Gray reacts after scoring what proved to be the game-winning goal off a pass
from Zack Chouinard in the third period of Friday night's game at Sullivan Arena.
Photo courtesy Mark Bolton/St. Anselm Athletics
As a team, KSC looks to build off a 13-10-1 campaign from a season ago – winning their final six games of the season. They added a seventh consecutive win dating to last season tonight, a streak that ironically began against St. Anselm in what was perhaps their most memorable victory of the season – storming back from three goals down in the third period for a 6-5 win 20 seconds into overtime.
Skelton (1-0-0) made 13 of his 34 stops in the third period including five in the ensuing six minutes after Gray's go-ahead goal.
"We were pretty disappointed with the way the boys played in the first half of the game," said KSC head coach Bobby Rodrigue. "It was good to see them get stronger as the game went on. I was thrilled to see Zack score in his first game with us. He had a debut and was excellent on faceoffs."
Keene State won 33 of 54 faceoffs, with Chouinard going 11-for-16.
Chase Carney was 9-for-14 and
Michael Boschetto 8-for-11.
Hanson made 28 saves for the Hawks, who went 18-10-2 overall including 16-3-1 in the Northeast-10 last season.
The game featured just three minor penalties, none over the final 35 minutes. St. Anselm was 1-for-2 on the power play and the Owls 0-for-1.
Keene State went 7-3-0 at Keene Ice last season, where they will take the ice tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. for their home opener against Franklin Pierce University. It will be the Ravens' season-opener under first year head coach Conor Foley, a 2022 graduate of FPU. The Owls pummeled Franklin Pierce 7-1 at Keene Ice last season, scoring five goals in the first period.
