BEVERLY – The first-seeded Endicott men’s ice hockey team advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Tournament title game on Wednesday night with a 4-0 semifinal round win over fourth-seeded Wentworth in front of a capacity crowd at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
Endicott freshman forward Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) broke open a scoreless contest in third with his fifth goal of the season just 16-seconds into the period. After winning the draw in the right face-off circle, Besinger slipped past his defender and roofed a wrister over the glove of Wentworth goaltender Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) for the quick 1-0 lead.
Parker Wood (Rochester Hills, Mich.) followed with his 12th tally of the season at the 5:58 mark when he finished cross-ice feed by Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) from the right wing with a sniper into top right corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Olsson went on to add his 12th goal of the year 10:05 later (16:03), while Besinger capped the scoring with an empty netter at the 18:48 mark on assists by Olsson and Josh Bowes (Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada).
Endicott goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Beverly Hills, Mich.) stopped 30 shots to improve to 16-8-2 on the season and record his third career shutout, while Miller made 37 saves in the loss (10-7-1).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is now 2-1-0 in the all-time series against Wentworth after tonight’s win.
- The Gulls are 7-5-1 at home this season.
- In their last five games, the Blue and Green have outscored their opponents 27-4 and recorded three shutouts.
- Endicott is currently 5-0-0 in its last five games, and 7-3-0 in its last ten contests.
- Tonight’s game featured 94 faceoffs, including 37 alone in the first period.
- The Gulls went 53-for-94 on the night with Besinger leading the way with 22 face-off wins in total.
FOR THE FOES
- Sophomore forward Chris Sattler (East Longmeadow, Mass.) recorded six shots, offensively, and also blocked a game-high five shots, defensively.
- Miller registered at least 10 saves in each period (13 –1st | 10 – 2nd | 14 – 3rd).
- The Leopards are now 6-10-1 on the road this season.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (16-8-2) will host third-seeded Salve Regina (16-10-1) in the ECAC Northeast Tournament title game this Saturday at Raymond J. Bourque Arena at 3 p.m. Wentworth’s season comes to a close at 10-15-2
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Men’s Lacrosse Tops Union 13-12
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Endicott senior Peter Field Jr. (Hampstead, N.H.) netted the game-winning goal 1:21 into double overtime to lift the Gulls past No. 14 nationally ranked Union (N.Y.) on Wednesday evening at Frank Bailey Field.
Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.) initiated the game-winning tally when he shifted possession behind the net and eventually found Field Jr. at the top of scoring area for a quality chance at goal. Field Jr. then proceeded to take the space in front of him and ripped a shot past Union sophomore goalie Sam Bebout (Summit, N.J.) for the win.
The Dutchmen trailed 12-9 midway through the fourth quarter (8:18) after Bannon buried back-to-back unassisted markers, but Union mounted a comeback behind three-straight tallies from Cam Slatton (Billerica, Mass.), Adam Johnson (Wellesley, Mass.), and Daniel Kycia (West Hartford, Conn.) to force overtime.
Bebout made two saves in the first overtime session, while Endicott goalie Cameron Bell (Falmouth, Maine) stopped his only test on cage at 2:04 of the first before Field Jr. sent the Gulls home with the victory.
Field and Will Jennings (Danvers, Mass.) paced Endicott offensively with four goals apiece, while Bannon added three markers. Matthew Faucher (Western Springs, Ill.) and Mitchel Tapley (Falmouth, Maine) also contributed solo tallies in the win. Bell finished the contest with 10 saves to improve to 1-2 on the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott head coach Eric Hagarty ’13 earned his first career coaching win.
- Today’s game was the second overtime contest of the season for the Gulls.
- Endicott is 1-1 this year in overtime.
- Today’s game was also the first-ever meeting between Endicott and Union.
- Tommy Hughes (Coram, N.Y.) was dominant at the face-off X once again for the third straight game as the junior face-off specialist went 21-for-28 on the day. Hughes has averaged 21 faceoff wins per game this season.
- Bannon finished the contest with a game-high six points (3g, 3a). Bannon now has registered five or more points in two games this year.
- Michael Ryan (Falmouth, Maine) recorded a game-high (tied) and season-high three caused turnovers in the win.
- Both teams were perfect in transition as Endicott went 12-for-12 and Union went 14-for-14.
FOR THE FOES
- Nolan Stauffer (Stamford, Conn.) and Kycia guided Union’s attack with three goals apiece. Stauffer also added an assist in the loss to lead the team in points with four.
- Bebout recorded 12 saves in the loss (0-1).
- Sean Hanley (Rockville Center, N.Y.), Michael Froman (Bourne, Mass.), and Lance Lonergan Jr. (Westport, Conn.) tied Ryan for the game-high in caused turnovers with three each.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (1-2) hosts No. 6 nationally ranked Middlebury on Tuesday, March 8 at Hempstead Stadium at 5 p.m. Union (0-1) travels to Babson College this Saturday for a non-conference matchup scheduled for 12 p.m.
Information supplied by Endicott College Sports Information Office
