HAMILTON, Mass. – The Endicott men's ice hockey team hosted two home games over the weekend. On Saturday, November 22nd, the Gulls hosted Keene State and tied 2-2. The following evening Endicott hosted Saint Anselm and took the 4-2 victory. Endicott improves to 6-4-3 (2-3 Patriot East) on the season as they look to take the ice next on Friday, December 5th when they travel to league opponent, Boston College at 7:30 p.m.
Game One: Endicott vs. Keene State
The first period was a battle as neither side could find the back of the net. The Blue and Green worked the Owls defensive unit as they forced goaltender, Dylan Strogen (Madbury, N.H.) to make 20 saves. The Endicott defense was just as stealthy as sophomore goaltender Nick Russo (Waltham, Mass.) made 10 stops in the first to hold the game at 0-0 entering the first intermission.
In the opening minutes of the second period the Blue and Green earned the first goal of the game after junior Dylan Costa (Lynnfield, Mass.) worked alongside senior Ryan Hansen (West Haven, Conn.) and senior Brendan Moore (Springfield, Mass.) on a power play to notch his second goal of the season.
Endicott would continue to hold the lead until the final seconds of the second period when the Owls made it a tie game. Tyler Clark (Hooksett, N.H.) made a combo play to goal with Andrew Pierce (Salem, N.H.) to secure the 1-1 score entering the second intermission.
In the third period Endicott again took the lead after sophomore Cameron Randles (Canyon Country, Calif.) made a play to goal with Moore and freshman James Burns (Andover, Mass.) to score his second goal of the season for the 2-1 advantage.
The lead would not last for long as just three minutes passed until the Owls made it a 2-2 score after Clark tallied his second goal of the game.
Both sides would battle in overtime but the big stops by both goaltenders would force the game to end in a tie. Russo ended the night with 41 stops while his counterpart made 47.
In the first meeting with the Owls back on November 9th Endicott just edged Keene 3-2.
Game Two: Endicott vs. Saint Anselm
The first period was controlled by the Gulls as they took a 1-0 lead after senior Kevin Brennan (Scituate, Mass.) and freshman Kyle Webb (Reading, Mass.) made a combo play to goal at the 4:28 mark that finished with Brennan finding the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
Russo would make an impressive 13 stops in the first period to hold the Hawks off the board giving the Gulls a 1-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
In the opening minutes of the second period the Blue and Green made it a two goal advantage after freshman Benjamin MacEwen (Waltham, Mass.) and Webb took advantage of a power play and made a crisp play as MacEwen found the back of the net.
Russo would make another 10 stops in the period to keep the Hawks off the board heading into the third period.
The final period was packed with offensive pressure by both sides. Endicott would kick the lead up to three when sophomore Tim Boyle (Hingham, Mass.) made a drive to goal and beat the Hawks defender to slip the puck into the back of the net.
Six minutes later Saint Anselm would finally answer back when Jonathan Palmer (Essex, Vt.) took advantage of a power play opportunity and beat Russo for the 3-1 score. The Blue and Green would not falter as they again increased the lead to three as freshman Lucian DiMarco (Glastonbury, Conn.) tallied his second goal of the season with help from Randles and Boyle.
Saint Anselm would crank one more goal in the final seconds of the game but it would not be enough as Endicott would hold on to the 4-2 victory. Russo finished the night with 31 stops while his counterparts combined for 39.