Endicott Men’s and Women’s Hockey Teams Post Wins Saturday – Mens and Women’s Basketball Top Western New England

Below – Four game stories: Men’s Ice Hockey, Women’s Ice Hockey, Men’s Basketball, and Women’s Basketball

BEVERLY– The No. 8/10 nationally ranked Endicott men’s ice hockey team shut out Becker College, 6-0, on Senior Day at Raymond J. Bourque Arena on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Gulls clinched the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular season title, and the right to host throughout the league tournament.

Prior to the game, Endicott seniors Connor Costello (Nottingham, N.H.) and Cameron Randles (Santa Clarita, Calif.) were honored, along with several family members, for their contributions towards the men’s ice hockey program.

Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) highlighted the offensive outburst for the Gulls as the sophomore center notched two goals and three assists to tie the single-game points record. Both he and Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.) originally set the program high-water mark against Salve Regina University in a 9-1 victory on 1/28/17.

Along with Besinger’s pair of markers, Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.) also found the back of the net twice, while teammates Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) and Nicholas Petrella (Hilton, N.Y.) registered solo tallies.

Endicott netminder Mark Specia (Ringwood, N.J.) stopped 26 shots to record his second career shutout, and stay undefeated (3-0-0) this season. Becker goaltender Grant Martens (Bloomington, Minn.) notched a career-high 63 saves in the loss (1-3-0).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Today’s win gave the Gulls their second regular season championship in program history.
The Gulls will also hold claim to being the first team in the history of CCC men’s ice hockey to win the league’s regular season title.
Endicott is 4-0-0 in the all-time series versus Becker.
The Gulls have outscored the Hawks 21-4 during that span.
Three of Endicott’s six goals came on the power play (3-for-12).
Endicott held Becker scoreless on the power play despite eight total chances.
Randles played in his first career collegiate game today, and registered six shots.
The Gulls are currently on a seven-game winning streak.
During that span, Endicott has outscored its opponents 44-10.

FOR THE FOES

Martens’ previous career-high for saves was 46, which came in a 3-0 loss to Tufts on 11/22/16.
Corey Schafer (Johnstown, Pa.) won a game-high 12 faceoffs.
Connor Allison (Hillsboro, Ore.) also had 10 faceoff victories.

WHAT’S NEXT

No. 8/10 Endicott (19-3-2, 13-3-1 CCC) hosts Suffolk University on Monday, February 20 at 2:50 PM. Becker (6-17-1, 5-11-1 CCC) travels to the University of New England this coming Monday for a league matchup at 2:40

SALEM – The No. 10 nationally ranked Endicott women’s ice hockey team defeated Salem State University, 3-0, on Saturday night at Rockett Arena to wrap up its 2016-17 regular season.

Endicott scored one goal in each period to bump its record to 21-3-1 overall (11-1-0 CHC) behind tallies from Jillian Gibbs (Burlington, Vt.), Courtney Walpole (Allen, Texas), and Caroline Hughes (Andover, Mass.) in each stanza, respectively.

Meanwhile, Gulls’ freshman netminder Alyssa Peterson (Cranberry Township, Pa.) made 11 saves for her fourth shutout of the season, and fifth victory of the year (5-1-0). Katherine Crane (Arlington, Mass.) had 37 saves in the loss (1-5-0).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Endicott is 5-0-0 in the all-time series against Salem State.
The Gulls have outscored their cross-town rivals 15-1 in that span.
Endicott is only one of five teams to have 20 or more wins in all of NCAA Division III women’s ice hockey.

FOR THE FOES

In yesterday’s 3-0 loss to Endicott, Crane stopped 38 shots giving her 75 saves over the last two games.
Kerryann Goode (Millis, Mass.) won a team-high six faceoffs.

WHAT’S NEXT

No. 10 Endicott (21-3-1, 11-1-0 CHC) will host the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Tournament semifinals (3/4) and finals (3/5) at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. The Gulls will play the lowest remaining seed that comes out of the quarterfinal round on March 4. Salem State (4-19-0, 2-10-0 CHC) playoff fate will be determined later this week when the CHC Tournament pairings announcement is made public

BEVERLY — In the final Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup of the regular season, the Endicott men’s basketball team doubled up the visiting Western New England University Golden Bears, 84-72, Saturday afternoon inside MacDonald Gymnasium on Senior Day.

Before the game, Endicott honored guard Kamahl Walker (Worcester, Mass.), forward Daquan Sampson (Germantown, Md.), guard Drew Sawyer (Norwalk, Conn.), guard Stephen Basden (Lynn, Mass.), forward Chris Lipscomb (West Springfield, Mass.), and guard Max Motroni (West Warwick, R.I.) in the annual Senior Day recognition ceremony and acknowledged Sampson for joining the 1,000 career points club earlier this season on Jan. 25, 2017 at Curry.

A fast start for the Gulls (8-0) disappeared as the Golden Bears fought back to tie the score at 20 apiece with 11:16 on the clock before Endicott headed into the locker room up 41-34 at the break.

Despite trailing by double digits for most of the second stanza, the Golden Bears used an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 64-60 with 6:21 left in the game.

Sampson’s electric slam at 5:21 and Motroni’s fadeaway jumper at 4:55 on back-to-back possessions energized the crowd to give the Gulls the boost they needed to fend off the Golden Bears.

With 35 seconds remaining, the seniors were taken out of the game to a standing ovation as Endicott heads into the postseason undefeated at home in CCC play and eye a third-straight conference title.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Endicott placed four student-athletes in double figures as Motroni poured in 19 points, followed by 17 from Walker, 16 from Sampson, and 13 from Basden.
Sampson earned his fourth double-double of the season as he also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Walker dished out a game-best five assists to go with two steals and 17 points.
The Gulls led by as much as 14 with 14:10 remaining in the game.
The Gulls converted a season-high 94.4 percent of their free throws when attempted at least 10 in a game (17-of-18).
Endicott registered its fifth 20-win season in program history.
The Gulls came into the game ranked No. 10 in the Northeast Region the latest NCAA DIII Men’s Basketball Regional Rankings released on Feb. 15, 2017.

FOR THE FOES

Sophomore guard Mikey Pettway (Bridgeport, Conn.) led the way with a game-high 28 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Graduate student guard Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) joined Pettway in double figures with 12 points and tied for the team-high with five boards.

NOTES

Endicott is 12-6 overall and 7-2 at home against WNEU in the all-time series.
The Golden Bears won the most recent meeting before today, 74-70, earlier this season on Jan. 7, 2017, but today’s win gave the Gulls the regular-season split.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Gulls (20-5, 15-3 CCC)and Golden Bears (6-19, 4-14 CCC) wrapped up the regular season today and earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament. They’ll host No. 7 Salve Regina in the CCC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 21 at 8:00 p.m. $website.include(“rich-footer”)

2017 CCC Men’s Basketball Tournament

Tournament Schedule
(Games hosted by the higher seed)

Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Feb. 21

#8 University of New England at #1 Nichols, 7 p.m.
#7 Salve Regina at #2 Endicott, 8 p.m.
#6 Eastern Nazarene at #3 Roger Williams, 7:30 p.m.
#5 Wentworth at #4 Gordon, 7 p.m.

Semifinals – Thursday, Feb. 23

#1/8 winner vs. #4/5 winner, TBA
#2/7 winner vs. #3/6 winner, TBA

Finals – Saturday, Feb. 25

Semifinal winners at higher seed, TBA

BEVERLY — The Endicott women’s basketball team put away the visiting Western New England University Golden Bears, 74-57, Saturday afternoon inside MacDonald Gymnasium on Senior Day to wrap up the Commonwealth Coast Conference’s (CCC) regular season.

Before the game, Endicott honored forward Sarah Hood (Burlington, Mass.) and guard Ilyza Holman (Ashland, Mass.) in the annual Senior Day pre-game ceremony.

Once things got going, junior forward Hannah Shaw (Bar Harbor, Maine) sounded off for a season-high 28 points to lead the charge to avenge a loss to the Golden Bears from earlier this season.

The Gulls led the entire game, as they jumped out to a 19-5 start and nearly matched their entire point total from the earlier matchup this season in the first half alone by taking a 43-30 lead into the locker room and never looked back.

Coming into the game needing 12 points, senior forward Emily Anderson (Rocky Hill, Conn.) became the 14th women’s basketball student-athlete in Western New England University’s program history to achieve the 1,000 career points milestone as she scored a layup with 44 seconds remaining to finish with 13 points on the afternoon.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Freshman guard Emily Pratt (Gardner, Mass.) added 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from downtown) and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the line, including 15 points in the first half alone.
Junior guard Gabriella Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) chipped in 12 points alongside her six rebounds, game-high six assists, and game-high three steals (tied).
Endicott led by as much as 22 points with 2:47 remaining in the game.
74 points is the second-most points the Gulls have scored in a game all season.
28 points is the most scored by a Gull this season.

FOR THE FOES

Junior guard Dorothy O’Neill (Staten Island, N.Y.) paced the squad with 18 points, one rebound, four assists, and three steals.
Anderson was also in double figures with 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

NOTES

Endicott is 12-9 overall and 6-4 at home against WNEU in the all-time series.
The Golden Bears have won the past two of the past three meetings, including a 73-47 victory earlier this season on 01/07/17.
Fun Fact: Endicott’s Kelsey Cuddy ’16 scored her 1,000th career point at Western New England last season on Jan. 9, 2016, and today, Anderson reciprocated the feat.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Gulls (13-12, 12-6 CCC)and Golden Bears (17-8, 13-5 CCC) wrapped up the regular season today. Endicott earned the No. 4 seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament beginning Tuesday, February 21 and will host No. 5 Eastern Nazarene in the CCC Quarterfinals at 6:00 p.m., while Western New England is the No. 3 seed and welcomes Curry to Springfield, Mass. for a 7:00 p.m. tip. $website.include(“rich-footer”)