BEVERLY – Endicott sophomore forward Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.) sniped a wrister into the top right corner of the net with 8.7-seconds remaining in regulation to lift the top-seeded Gulls past fifth-seeded University of New England (UNE) by a 5-4 score in the inaugural Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Men’s Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday night at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
With the win, No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott (23-3-2) has earned the CCC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship. The Gulls will learn who their first round opponent is on Monday, March 6 at 10:30 AM via the NCAA.com selection show. Meanwhile, with the loss, UNE’s season comes to a close at 15-10-2.
Saturday’s inaugural CCC championship went back-and-forth from the very beginning as both teams exchanged goals all the way up until Bleck’s game-winner with 8.7-seconds to play in the contest.
Gulls’ freshman forward Brendan Shane (Rochester, N.Y.) opened up the scoring with his third tally of the season on a one-timer from the slot at 2:29 of the first period, while Ryan Bloom (Northville, Mich.) eventually answered for the Nor’easters at 12:26. The two team’s then alternated goals once again in the stanza as Joseph Slovak (South Yarmouth, Mass.) made it 2-1 at 14:23 and Tucker Ross (Ashburn, Va.) found the equalizer at 18:29.
The same story line repeated itself in the second as Jack Musil (Hull, England) scored for Endicott at 12:58 before Danny Antonoff (Bedford, Mass.) stymied the Gulls’ momentum less than five minutes later (16:49) to even the score at 3-3 headed into the break.
In the third, Bleck put Endicott ahead in quick fashion with his 20th of the season at the 3:52 mark, but a diving redirection goal near the left post by Dylan Bengston (Coral Springs, Fla.) at 11:52 set up Bleck’s heroics in the final moments of the matchup.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The all-time series is now tied at 1-1-1 after today’s result.
- Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) made 24 saves in the win (20-3-2).
- Endicott extended its winning streak to 11 straight games.
- The Gulls avenged an earlier loss to UNE this season at home that saw the Nor’easters score with 3.3-seconds left in overtime.
- Frank Spellman (Des Moines, Iowa), Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.), John Carricato (Ridge, N.Y.), and Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) all had two assists each in the victory.
FOR THE FOES
- UNE’s No. 1 nationally ranked power play did not disappoint as the Nor’easters went 2-for-2 with the man-advantage.
- The Nor’easters also held Endicott – who is ranked No. 2 in the country on the power play – to an 0-for-4 showing on the night.
- Antonoff led UNE with a three-point night (one goal, two assists).
- Payton Porter (Houlton, Maine) stopped a game-high 44 shots in the loss (5-1-0).
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott (23-3-2) has earned the CCC’s automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championship. The Gulls will learn who their first round opponent is on Monday, March 6 at 10:30 AM via the NCAA.com selection show. Meanwhile, with the loss, UNE’s season comes to a close at 15-10-2.
BEVERLY – The first-seeded Endicott women’s ice hockey team fell to No. 2 seed Morrisville State by a 3-1 score on Sunday afternoon in the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Tournament championship game at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
Morrisville State’s Vanessa Klimpke (Winnipeg, Manitoba) was named the CHC Tournament Most Valuable Player as the freshman forward scored three goals and dished one assist in two postseason games for the Mustangs. Klimpke’s tournament efforts were highlighted by her game-winning goal versus SUNY Canton in the semifinals, and also her unassisted tally against Endicott in today’s matchup that opened up the scoring in the contest at 5:05 of the second.
The Mustangs then went on to receive goals from Jessica Ujcik (Munich, Germany) and Maddison Devlin (Campbell River, British Columbia) later in the period at 11:35 and 12:51, respectively, that all but clinched Morrisville State’s first-ever CHC Tournament crown in program history.
Endicott did play a hard-fought 27:09 of action the rest of the way, which resulted in a goal from Meredith Vlachos (East Bridgewater, Mass.) at 10:51 of the third, but Morrisville State goaltender Renee Schmaltz (Beaumont, Alberta) held true from that point on for the win.
Schmaltz ended the contest with 30 saves and improved to 20-6-1 on the season, while Endicott netminder Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) had 26 saves in the loss (15-3-1).
CHC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
F – Vanessa Klimpke (MVP), Morrisville State
F – Jillian Gibbs, Endicott
D – Kaitlyn Schlake, Morrisville State
D – Jessica Ujcik, Morrisville State
D – Ellen Carter, Endicott
G – Renee Schmaltz, Morrisville State
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Despite today’s loss, Endicott still leads the all-time series over Morrisville State (3-2-1).
- Teneal Perry (Halifax, Nova Scotia) picked up her seventh assist of the season on Vlachos’ tally.
- Maggie Layo (Sandwich, Mass.) won a team-high nine face-offs.
FOR THE FOES
- Klimpke was the primary assist on Ujcik’s game-winner at 11:35 of the second, while Renee Stevenson (Winnipeg, Manitoba) had the secondary helper.
- Kaitlyn Schlake (Nampa, Idaho) and Stephanie Strymecki (Kelowna, British Columbia) notched assists on Devlin’s goal at 12:51 of the second.
- Strymecki won a game-high 12 face-offs, while Klimpke blocked a game-high four shots.
- The Mustangs have won three in a row after securing today’s CHC Tournament title, and are also 9-3-0 on the road this season.
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 8/10 nationally ranked Endicott (22-4-1) and Morrisville State (20-6-1) will now await an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey tournament. The selection show will air on www.NCAA.com on Monday, March 6 at 10 AM.
WELLESLEY, Mass. — The Endicott women’s lacrosse team put up a dozen on the scoreboard in frigid temperatures to power past host Wellesley College, 12-7, Sunday afternoon in non-conference action at the Wellesley Fields Complex.
Senior attack Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) and freshman attack Meghan Dutchyshyn (Cheshire, Conn.) each tallied a game-high four goals as the Meghans combined for two-thirds of the Gulls’ offense.
The first half featured a Lennon hat trick to give the Gulls a 6-3 lead with 2:52 remaining in the opening stanza and Endicott took a 6-4 edge into halftime.
Freshman midfielder Carley Phillips (Waterford, Conn.) notched her second of three markers on the day to bring the score within two again, down 8-6, with 25:04 left in the game, before four-straight goals from the Gulls put the game out of reach.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott finished the contest with a 33-12 edge in shots, and a 27-10 advantage in shots on target.
- Freshman midfielder Jennifer Lacroix (Wrentham, Mass.) scooped up a game-high six ground balls.
- Lennon and junior midfielder Olivia Larson (Cheshire, Conn.) each won a game-high four draw controls.
- Sophomore midfielder Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.) led all student-athletes with a game-high three assists.
- Senior goalkeeper Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) improved to 2-0 on the season as she made three saves.
- Endicott led by as much as six (12-6) with 5:38 to go in the contest.
FOR THE FOES
- Phillips recorded her first career hat-trick in the setback.
- Senior midfielder Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) caused a game-high five turnovers
- Senior goalkeeper Wendy Nettleson (La Jolla, Calif.) stopped 15 shots, but fell to 0-2 on the year.
NOTES
- Endicott is 8-2 against Wellesley in the all-time series, as the Blue won last season’s meeting, 10-9, in Beverly, Mass. on March 9, 2016.
- The Gulls have won seven of the past eight meetings.
- This game was originally scheduled to be played yesterday, but was postponed due to extreme temperatures.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (2-0) welcomes No. 15 Colby College to its campus on Tuesday, March 7 at 7:00 p.m. at Hempstead Stadium.
Wellesley (0-2) goes on the road at UMass-Dartmouth on Tuesday, March 7 at 4:00 p.m.
