Details on Endicott and Salem Thursday night men’s hockey
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA – Endicott sophomore Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) registered the second-ever 
hat trick in program history on Thursday night to lead the No. 8/10 nationally ranked Gulls past Western New England University (WNEU), 9-0.
Day opened the scoring in the first period at the 14:34 mark, and nearly went on to record the program’s first natural hat trick with a pair of goals in the second (3:26/8:13), as both strikes bookended a Lloyd Hayes (West Newbury, Mass.) tally at 5:58. The hat trick for Day did mark the first-ever three-goal game by a defenseman, however.
Meanwhile, Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) and Jack Musil (Hull, England) both scored twice, while Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) rounded out the scoring with a tally 58-seconds into the third.
Endicott goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) stopped 18 shots to post his fourth shutout this season, and seventh of his career. Golden Bears’ netminder Kyle Carducci (Hartford, Conn.) had 28 saves in the loss (0-3-0).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Day finished the night with four points (3 goals, 1 assist), the most ever by a defenseman in a single-game.
- In addition to his pair of goals, Musil dished out two assists to notch a career-high four-point night. It marks the seventh four-point game in program history (counting Day’s four points tonight).
- The program’s first-ever hat trick – which was notched by Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.) – also came in a nine-goal triumph (9-1 vs. Salve Regina on 1/27/17).
- Endicott is 2-0-0 against WNEU this season.
- The Gulls have outscored the Golden Bears, 14-0, in those two meetings.
- Endicott has won six games in a row (all in-conference matchups).
FOR THE FOES
- Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) turned away 26 shots in 29:57 of action off the bench.
- CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) won a game-high 13 faceoffs (13-for-17).
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 8/10 Endicott (18-3-2, 12-3-1 CCC) hosts Becker College this Saturday in a league matchup at 2:50 PM. Prior to the game, Connor Costello (Nottingham, N.H.) and Cameron Randles (Santa Clarita, Calif.) will be honored as part of a Senior Day ceremony. WNEU (7-14-2, 4-11-1 CCC) visits Salve Regina University for a conference tilt on Saturday at 2:40 PM.
Salem State Men’s Hockey Falls
SALEM — Mike Kelly (Stoneham, MA) netted a hat trick as the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth sailed past the Vikings of Salem State 5-2 Thursday night at Rockett Arena. The Corsairs are now three points behind the Vikings for second place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference standings as they improved to 15-8 on the season and 10-6 in conference. Salem State fell to 11-9-3 and 10-4-2 in the MASCAC.
In a clean first period, the two teams battled in the neutral zone during the majority of the period. Although the Vikings’ attack ripped off 12 shots through the period, Corsairs goalie Drew Michals (Newton, MA) didn’t let any pucks past his protective gear until the final second. After collecting a loose puck in the neutral zone, Derek Makimaa (Swartz Creek, MI) rushed to the UMass Dartmouth zone in desperation to get off a quality shot on a 2-on-1 opportunity as time was about to expire. With that chance, Makimaa’s hard wrist shot designated for the top right corner was saved by Michals and trickled down to the opposite side of the net where Ryan Wilkinson (Burlington, ONT) tapped in the goal with 0.06 seconds on the clock. Salem State took a 1-0 lead heading into the second period.
Salem State junior goaltender Jason Pucciarelli (Newmarket, ONT), who was forced to make seven saves during the first 20-minutes of action, ran into some trouble in the second period. A defensive breakdown in the first two minutes led to a Corsairs goal as Kelly tapped home a give-and-go from Casey Shea (Woburn, MA) right in front of Pucciarelli to tie the game. UMass Dartmouth was far from finished offensively as they added two more goals in the period while being shorthanded. David Skarbek (Hyannis, MA) served a two-minute minor for having too many men on the ice. During that penalty, team captains Matt Baldino (Woburn, MA) and Kelly each tallied a breakaway goal after defensive miscues on Salem State’s power play unit. Kelly defeated Pucciarelli high left while Baldino put the puck through the five-hole to give the Corsairs a 3-1 lead after two periods.
UMass Dartmouth took that momentum into the final period their offense continued to click. Despite allowing a shorthanded goal from Salem State’s Dan Holland (Woburn, MA) in the opening seconds that cut their lead to 3-2, the Corsairs were granted a power play opportunity moments later that they took full advantage of. With Brad Jones (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) serving a minor penalty to begin the period, Brody Heleno (Mississauga, ONT) made matters worse for the Vikings after he was called for a slash. With both Jones and Heleno in the box, the Corsairs managed to add two more goals to stretch their lead to 5-2. During the power play, Kelly added his third goal of the night while Shea collected his first goal on a one timer on the weak side of the net. Salem State could not gain any traction as Michals and the Corsairs’ defense held on for the 5-2 win.
Michals ended the night with 31 saves as he moved to 13-8 on the season. Pucciarelli made 23 stops while he dropped to 9-7-3.
Baldino collected three points (1g, 2a) while Shea ended the night with a goal and an assist.
Salem State will host the Rams of Framingham State on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2:00 p.m. while the Corsairs travel to Fitchburg State to take on the Falcons at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.
