Endicott College Men’s and Women’s Hockey Team Host Conference Championship Games Saturday
BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott men’s ice hockey team will host No. 5 seed University of New England (UNE) this Saturday in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament championship at 7:30 PM at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. Ticket prices for Saturday’s game are as follows: Endicott students are free, $3.00 for students/senior citizens and $5.00 for adults (children under 12 are not charged admission).
The No. 7/9 nationally ranked Gulls earned the first seed in the CCC Tournament after winning the inaugural
CCC men’s ice hockey regular season championship with a 14-3-1 conference record. Endicott then went on to win both its CCC Tournament quarterfinals and semifinals matchups versus Western New England
University and Johnson & Wales University, respectively.
Meanwhile, UNE claimed the fifth-seed in the tournament with a 9-7-2 league record. The Nor’easters advanced to this weekend’s CCC championship with a 4-2 win over Curry in the quarterfinals, and an “upset” victory – if only going by seeding – over No. 2 seed Nichols by a 6-3 score in the semifinals.
THE MATCHUP/SERIES HISTORY: UNE holds a 1-0-1 advantage in the all-time series over Endicott (both meetings have occurred this season). In their last matchup on January 21, the Nor’easters defeated Endicott by a 4-3 score in overtime as Ryan Bloom (Northville, Mich.) netted the game-winning goal with 3.3-seconds remaining in the extra session. The only other meeting between the two squads resulted in a 3-3 overtime draw in Biddeford, Maine on November 3, 2016.
SCOUTING ENDICOTT: The Gulls enter Saturday’s matchup on a 10-game winning streak, and have outscored opponents 62-17 during that stretch. Endicott also is 13-2-0 at home this season with its only other loss at Raymond J. Bourque Arena coming at the hands of Salve Regina on November 10, 2016.
Endicott’s offense features five student-athletes ranked inside the top-35 in scoring including Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.), Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.), Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.), Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.), and Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.). The quintet ranks No. 5 (17g-29a-46p, 1.70 p/gm), No. 9 (17g-18a-35p, 1.59 p/gm), No. 22 (19g-17a-36p, 1.38 p/gm), No. 28 (15g-21a-36p, 1.33 p/gm), and No. 34 (11g-22a-33p, 1.27 p/gm), in respective order.
As a team, the Gulls are No. 1 in scoring offense in Division III at 5.00 g/gm, No. 5 in scoring defense (1.85 g/gm), No. 1 in scoring margin (3.15), No. 2 on the power play (43/144, 29.9%), No. 7 on the penalty kill (138/158, 87.3%), and No. 2 on combined special teams (181/302, 59.9%).
SCOUTING UNE: The Nor’easters feature three of the top-6 point-getters in all of NCAA Division III. Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) leads the country in points per game at 2.04 (18g-35a-53p), while Trevor Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) ranks second (20g-24a-44p) and Ryan Bloom (Northville, Mich.) is positioned sixth (19g-23a-42p).
As a team, UNE ranks No. 3 in the country in scoring offense (4.81 g/gm), No. 47 in scoring defense (3.19 g/gm), No. 11 in scoring margin (1.62), No. 1 on the power play (53/161, 32.9%), No. 44 on the penalty kill (106/131, 80.9%), and No. 10 in combined special teams (159/292, 54.5%). The Nor’easters are also 6-8-1 on the road this season.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The winner of Saturday’s Championship game will be named the CCC Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament Champion. The CCC Tournament Champion will receive the conference’s automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.
BEVERLY – The first-seeded Endicott women’s ice hockey team will host No. 4 seed Stevenson University this Saturday in the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Tournament semifinals at 12:30 PM at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. Admission will be free of charge to this weekend’s frozen four-style format that will feature both semifinal rounds on Saturday (12:30 PM/4:00 PM) and the championship round on Sunday (1:30 PM). Fans should also be reminded that backpacks will not be allowed in the arena. Purses are permitted intoRaymond J. Bourque Arena for the weekend.
The No. 8/10 nationally ranked Gulls earned the first seed in the CHC Tournament after winning the regular season championship with an 11-1-0 league mark. Endicott received an automatic bye into the semifinal
round of the 2016-17 CHC Tournament for winning the league, while No. 4 Stevenson claimed a spot in the playoffs with a 7-4-1 conference record. The Mustangs then advanced to the semis with a 2-1 quarterfinals victory against Johnson & Wales University (JWU) on Saturday, February 25
THE MATCHUP/SERIES HISTORY: Endicott and Stevenson are deadlocked at a 2-2-1 record headed into Saturday’s semifinal round tilt. The Mustangs posted a 2-0-1 record in the first three meetings, which includes a 2-1 double overtime victory in the inaugural CHC Championship game last season, while the Gulls have won the last two games in the all-time series.
SCOUTING ENDICOTT: The Gulls, who have not played in a contest since February 18, enter Saturday’s matchup on a four-game winning streak. During that span, Endicott has outscored its opponents 13-2 (three shutouts).
Nationally speaking, Endicott checks in among the best in Division III in the following categories: No. 11 scoring offense (3.04 g/gm), No. 3 scoring defense (1.12 g/gm), No. 8 scoring margin (1.92), No. 1 fewest penalty minutes (5.6 pim/gm), No. 21 power play (22/122, 18.0%), No. 1 penalty kill (65/67, 97.0%), No. 44 combined special teams (87/189, 46.0%).
SCOUTING STEVENSON: The Mustangs hit the road for their ninth weekend road trip and their 18th game away from their home rink, the Reisterstown Sportsplex. The team is 8-4-0 in road games this season and have posted a 2-2-0 record in neutral games. Junior Chelsea Blackburn (Westland, Mich.) has totaled 39 points in 40 career road games on 26 goals and 15 assists. This season she has 20 points away from home on 14 goals and six assists, including one hat trick. Classmate Monica Pozuc (Kent, Ohio) has 20 career points on the road, including 16 this season on six goals and 10 assists. Meanwhile, sophomore Cierra Siemasko (Fallston, Md.) has recorded 12 of her 13 career points away from home.
As a team, Stevenson ranks nationally in the following categories: No. 16 scoring offense (2.84 g/gm), no. 24 scoring defense (2.12 g/gm), No. 20 scoring margin (0.72), No. 11 fewest penalty minutes (7.5 pim/gm), No. 44 power play (16/133, 12.0%), No. 17 penalty kill (75/86, 87.2%), No. 58 combined special teams (91/219, 41.6%, second-to-last in the country).
WHAT’S AT STAKE
The winner of Saturday’s semifinal will take on the winner of No. 2 Morrisville State and No. 3 SUNY Canton on Sunday in the CHC championship game at 1:30 PM at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
