BEVERLY – The Endicott men’s ice hockey team held off a spirited comeback effort from No. 11/15 nationally ranked Neumann University 4-3 on Saturday afternoon in game one of the inaugural Endicott Holiday Invitational on at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
Endicott (9-2-2) will now take on the winner of Tufts University and Plymouth State University in the championship round of the invitational tomorrow at 3:30 PM, while Neumann (10-4-1) will face off against the losing team of today’s game two matchup at 12 PM.
The Gulls jumped out to a quick 4-1 advantage in the contest receiving goals from Connor Costello (Nottingham, N.H.) and Thomas Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) just 5:03 in the first before Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) scored twice less than five minutes into the second to account for Endicott’s scoring.
Shayne Morrissey (St. John’s, Newfoundland) and Shane Topf (Eagle River, Alaska) made it 4-3 with goals at 16:39 and 17:14 of the second, respectively, but Endicott goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) thwarted the comeback bid by the Knights late in the third with a beautiful post-to-post save on a one-timer by Johannes Sallila (Tampere, Finland) from the right face-off circle with less than a minute to play for the eventual win.
Jory Mullin (Cartwright, Manitoba) had Neumann’s only other goal at 19:35 of the first, his team-leading 17th of the season.
Aldridge finished the contest with 42 saves in the victory (8-2-2), while Anthony Pupplo (Shirley, N.Y.) stopped 18 shots and did not give up a goal in 34:10 of action off the bench. Neumann starter Matt Gibney (Watrous, Saskatchewan) recorded 12 saves in the loss (4-4-1).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is 2-0-1 against nationally ranked teams in program history.
- The Gulls also extended their program record winning streak to nine straight today.
- Jack Musil (Hull, England) won a game-high 13 faceoffs.
- Endicott held Neumman to a 1-of-6 on power play opportunities.
- Costello picked up a career-high three points in the win (1g, 2a).
FOR THE FOES
- The Knights suffered their first loss since November 12, 2016 against No. 4/5 Hobart College by an 8-5 score.
- Prior to that loss, Neumann posted a record of 7-0-1 up until today.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (9-2-2) will now take on the winner of Tufts University and Plymouth State University in the championship round of the invitational tomorrow at 3:30 PM, while Neumann (10-4-1) will face off against the losing team of today’s game two matchup at 12 PM.
RUTLAND, Vt. – The No. 10 nationally ranked Endicott women’s ice hockey team claimed a 7-3 victory over Castleton University on Saturday afternoon in game one of the Rutland Herald Invitational at Spartan Arena.
Jade Meier (Fairbanks, Alaska) and Ellen Carter (Roseville, Minn.) both scored twice, while Jillian Gibbs (Burlington, Vt.), Lexi Klein (Shoreview, Minn.), and Caroline Hughes (Andover, Mass.) all found the back of the net as well in the win.
The Gulls scored six straight goals to begin the contest before Castleton surged back with a trio of tallies from Jocelyn Forrest (Prince George, B.C.) Aimee Briand (Barrington, N.H.), and Chanel Tvergyak (Abbotsford, B.C.) in the third period to cut Endicott’s lead in half.
Meier squashed the comeback attempt, however, with an empty netter at 19:21 on a feed from Gibbs to clinch the victory.
Endicott’s Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) made 12 saves to move to 8-0-1 on the season, while Alexis Kalm (Aberdeen, N.C.) had 26 saves in the loss (1-4-0).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott has now won three games in row, outscoring its opponents 16-6 during that span.
- Maggie Layo (Sandwich, Mass.) recorded a team-high 10 faceoff wins.
- Carter’s pair of goals in today’s victory establishes a new single-game career-high for the sophomore defenseman.
- The Gulls are 6-0-0 on the road this season.
FOR THE FOES
- Briand won a game-high 18 faceoffs.
- The Spartans are 2-5-0 at Spartan Arena this season, and have lost four straight games.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (12-0-1) advances to the Rutland Herald Invitational championship on Sunday at 4 PM, and will face the winner of Saturday night’s 7 PM contest between SUNY Canton and Holy Cross. Castleton (3-8-0) will take on the loser of that matchup in the consolation game Sunday at 1 PM.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Endicott men’s basketball team was handed its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) loss, 74-70, at Western New England University Saturday afternoon inside the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
Endicott led by as much as five with 14:50 left in the opening stanza, but the Gulls found themselves trailing at the half, 45-40, for just the fourth time this season and first time in conference play.
The Gulls’ four-game win streak came to an abrupt end as senior forward Chris Lipscomb‘s (West Springfield, Mass.) chance for the go-ahead trey with three seconds left was off the mark and Western New England sealed the deal with a pair of free throws with two ticks on the clock.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls are still 11-6 overall and 5-4 on the road in the all-time series against Western New England.
- Endicott had previously won the past nine head-to-head matchups until today, including a 72-59 victory in the most recent meeting before today on 02/20/16 in Beverly, Mass.
- Endicott placed three student-athletes in double figures as senior guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.) led the way with a game-high 20 points.
- Senior guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) chipped in 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists, followed by 10 points and five rebounds from freshman guard Keith Brown (Pelham, N.H.).
- Senior forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.) grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and blocked a game-high two shots.
- Lipscomb pulled down seven rebounds
- Western New England scored 18 points off 16 Gulls’ turnovers.
- The Gulls dished out a season-low four assists.
FOR THE FOES
- The Golden Bears snapped a nine-game losing streak with today’s victory to also earn their first win on their home court (1-3) of the season.
- Senior guard Mike Gelineau (Waltham, Mass.) led a cast of five scorers in double-figures with his team-leading 17 points.
- Senior forward Daniel Silva (Seekonk, Mass.) added 15 points, while sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) chipped in 12 points.
- Silva matched Walker for a game-high three steals, while Pettway dished out a game-high five helpers.
- Graduate student guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) and sophomore guard/forward Tyler Johnson (Vernon, Conn.) each tallied 10 points apiece.
- Johnson also grabbed a team-high six caroms off the glass.
- Western New England was up by as much as 11 with 17:57 remaining in the game.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Gulls (10-3, 5-1 CCC) travel to Newport, R.I. to take on host Salve Regina at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11th.
Western New England (2-10, 1-5 CCC) is on the road at Roger Williams at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11th.
SPRINGFIELD — The Endicott women’s basketball team suffered a 73-47 setback against host Western New England Saturday afternoon inside the Alumni Healthful Living Center in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action.
The Golden Bears raced out to a 21-7 lead after one quarter of play and led 36-19 at the half.
Endicott cut the deficit to as close as 15, on senior forward Sarah Hood‘s (Burlington, Mass.) layup with 7:35 remaining, but Western New England squashed any chance at a comeback effort as the Golden Bears won their ninth straight game to remain unblemished in conference play.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls are 11-9 against the Golden Bears in the all-time series, including a 6-5 ledger on the road.
- Hood led the Gulls with a team-high 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks.
- Junior guard Hannah Kiernan (Wenham, Mass.) chipped in 11 points to go with five rebounds and two assists.
- Junior forward Sam Charette (Wenham, Mass.) pulled down a season-high six rebounds in her first start of the season.
- Junior guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) tied a game-high with four steals in addition to her four points, three rebounds, and team-best three assists.
- The Gulls led just once, as they were up 2-0 with 9:49 to go in the first quarter as freshman guard Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) hit the opening free throws for the first points of the contest.
- Endicott matched its season-low with 32 rebounds and did not make a single three-pointer (0-for-14) for the first time all season.
FOR THE FOES
- The Golden Bears have won nine straight games and are 4-1 at home this season.
- Senior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) scored a game-high 25 points to go with six rebounds and one assist.
- Senior forward Paige Young (Berlin, Conn.) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and matched Coppola with a game-high four steals.
- The Golden Bears out-rebounded the Gulls, 42-32.
- Western New England led by as much as 26 with 1:19 remaining in the game.
WHAT’S NEXT
The Gulls (5-8, 4-2 CCC) travel to Newport, R.I. to take on host Salve Regina at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11th.
