BEVERLY – The No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott men’s ice hockey team punched its ticket to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over Johnson & Wales University (JWU) at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
With the win, first-seeded Endicott (22-3-2) will host the University of New England (15-9-2) this Saturday in the CCC title game at 7:30 PM. The fifth-seeded Nor’easters defeated No. 2 seed Nichols earlier tonight by a 6-3 score to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, with the loss, sixth-seeded JWU’s season comes to a close at 11-12-4 overall.
Tied 2-2 late in the second, Endicott sophomore center Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) buried home a second attempt shot from the slot off an odd-man rush to push the Gulls ahead 3-2 with 18:03 elapsed in the period.
Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) doubled Endicott’s advantage in the third (10:37) with a bomb (slap shot) from the right point after Jack Musil (Hull, England) won a 50/50 puck near the boards.
JWU tested the Gulls down the stretch, but Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) held true in net stopping all five shots on goal from the Wildcats to secure the victory. Aldridge’s defense also blocked five shots during that time span.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott has yet to lose to JWU in the all-time series (5-0-0).
- The Gulls also extended their winning streak to 10 straight games, and bumped their record at home to 13-2-0 on the season.
- Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) put Endicott on the scoreboard first just 2:04 into the contest.
- Day’s first of two goals on the night gave the Gulls a 2-1 lead at the 17:30 mark of the first period.
- Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.) had three assists on the night, while Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.) had two primary assists – including the helper on Besinger’s game-winner.
- Aldridge finished the night with 25 saves to improve to 19-3-2 on the year.
FOR THE FOES
- Ben Brouillard (Somerset, Mass.) tied up the game at 1-1 with his ninth goal of the season at 4:28 of the first, while Connor Bates (Laconia, N.H.) made it 2-2 at 6:47 of the second with his 12th of the year.
- Brouillard’s goal came off a blocked shot in front of the crease, while Bates redirected Michael Mazzotta’s (Mars, Pa.) slapper from the right point directly in the slot.
- Bates led all student-athletes with 18 face-off wins.
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 1 seed Endicott (22-3-2) will host No. 5 seed the University of New England (15-9-2) this Saturday in the CCC title game at 7:30 PM.
BEVERLY — The Endicott women’s lacrosse team opened the 2017 season with a commanding 17-6 win over visiting Wheaton College (Mass.) Wednesday night in non-conference action at Hempstead Stadium.
The Gulls struck first as freshman attack Meghan Dutchyshyn (Cheshire, Conn.) broke the seal on the new season on a feed from senior midfielder Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.) with 27:34 remaining in the first half.
Wheaton knotted the score at one apiece minutes later on senior midfielder Angela Mallis’ (Falmouth, Maine) strike from senior attack Giovanna Bishop (Portland, Ore.) before Endicott rattled off seven consecutive tallies to go up 8-1 with 5:02 to play in the opening stanza.
Endicott took a 9-2 advantage into halftime and grew that edge to an 11-goal margin for its largest lead of the game, up 16-5 at the 13:21 mark on junior attack Jess Glenn‘s (Underhill, Vt.) free-position goal to earn the Gulls’ first win in a season opener since the 2013-14 season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls are 1-2 in season opener under third-year head coach Morgan Maciewicz.
- Coach Maciewicz is 2-1 against Wheaton in her tenure.
- Senior goalkeeper Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) earned the win (1-0) as she allowed five goals and made three saves before giving way to sophomore Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) with 12:25 left in the game. Rino gave up one goal and made three saves.
- Whitney led the way with five points (two goals, three assists, for the Gulls.
- Senior attack Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) registered a hat trick in her return to the field after missing the entire 2016 season due to injury.
- Freshman midfielder Jennifer Lacroix (Wrentham, Mass.) and Dutchyshyn each recorded hat tricks and two assists apiece in their first career games.
FOR THE FOES
- Junior goalie Molly Witten (Bethesda, Md.) made two saves as she suffered the loss (0-1), and split time with junior goalie Galicia Rothe (Key Biscayne, Fla.), who made four saves.
- Senior midfielder Lydia Regan (Medford, Mass.) scooped up a game-high six ground balls and caused a game-high four turnovers.
- Freshman midfielder Molly Covarrubias (Framingham, Mass.) won a game-best five draw controls and led the Lyons with a pair of goals and two assists on the night.
NOTES
- Endicott is now 3-5 against Wheaton in the all-time series, as the Lyons won last season’s meeting, 13-7, in the Gulls’ home opener on March 5, 2016.
- The Gulls have won three of the past four meetings.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (1-0) goes on the road at Wellesley on Saturday, March 4 at 1:00 p.m.
Wheaton (0-1) hosts Lasell in the Lyons’ home opener on Saturday, March 4 at 2:00 p.m.
Season preview: Head Coach: Morgan Maciewicz, Bates ’10 (3rd season)
Video supplied by Endicott College Sports Information
