BEVERLY – The Endicott College Gulls (22-2-2), ranked number 4 nationally in D3, defeated number 5 ranked Curry (21-5-1), 6-0 on March 4, to win the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship for the second time. Drawing a bye in the D3 tournament last week, the Gulls return to the Bourque Arena this Saturday to take on Norwich (20-6-2) in the NCAA quarterfinals.
An assistant coach, Ty Hanrahan brings us up to date on the team, its opponent, and some of the awards Head Coach R.J. Tolan and his players have earned. (Ty was a guest on North Shore Sports Night Monday night with Rick Moore and Tim Kearns.)
Endicott College hockey assistant coach Ty Hanrahan
NCAA BRACKET | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO
BEVERLY — The No. 4 nationally ranked Endicott men’s ice hockey team (22-2-2) is set to host No. 9 Norwich (20-6-2) in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday (7 PM) at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
The winner of Saturday’s matchup will advance to the NCAA Tournament semifinal round and play the winner of No. 2 Hobart/No. 7 Curry on Friday, March 24 at a time and place to be determined later this weekend.
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Norwich earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament and proved the committee right as the Cadets defeated No. 5 Plattsburgh, 2-1, on the road to advance to the quarterfinals.
- The all-time series between Endicott and Norwich stands at 1-0-3 in favor of the Cadets.
- The first three meetings all ended in 3-3 ties (10/28/16 | 10/27/18 | 1/5/19) prior to Norwich’s 3-0 victory earlier this season on October 29.
- Endicott is 12-1-1 at home this season, while Norwich is 8-1-2 away from Kreitzberg Arena.
- The Gulls are looking to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament semifinal round for the first time in program history, while the Cadets are looking to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2018-19 (national runner-ups).
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
ENDICOTT PROFILE
NCAA rankings for Endicott include the following categories/stats: penalty kill percentage (11th, .887), power play percentage (4th, .278), scoring defense (3rd, 1.50), scoring margin (3rd, 2.85), scoring offense (4th, 4.35), team assists (8th, 186), team points (7th, 299), winning percentage (3rd, .885).
Top Goal Scorer: Connor Amsley, Andrew Kurapov, Zach Mazur = 13 goals
Assist Leader: Ryan Willett = 24
Top Point-Getter: Ryan Willett = 31
Goalies
Atticus Kelly
13 GP, 12 GS, 11-0-2, 1.71 GAA, 308 saves, .933 save percentage
Ryan Wilson
13 GP, 13 GS, 11-2-0, 1.23 GAA, 299 saves, .949 save percentage
NORWICH PROFILE
NCAA rankings for Norwich include the following categories/stats: penalty kill percentage (7th, .901), power play percentage (19th, .224), scoring defense (2nd, 1.46), scoring margin (19th, 1.14), scoring offense (59th, 2.16), team assists (56th, 109), team points (54th, 182), winning percentage (8th, .750).
Top Goal Scorer: Philip Elgstam = 9
Assist Leader: Joe Nagle = 16
Top Point-Getter: Joe Nagle, Clark Kerner = 19
Goalies
Drennen Atherton
21 GP, 21 GS, 16-5-0, 1.47 GAA, 524 saves, .944 save percentage
WHAT’S NEXT
The winner of Saturday’s matchup will advance to the NCAA Tournament semifinal round and play the winner of No. 2 Hobart/No. 7 Curry on Friday, March 24 at a time and place to be determined later this weekend.
