BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott men's ice hockey team advanced to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast Tournament title game on Wednesday night with a 4-0 semifinal round win over fourth-seeded Wentworth in front of a capacity crowd at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
Endicott freshman forward Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) broke open a scoreless contest in third with his fifth goal of the season just 16-seconds into the period. After winning the draw in the right face-off circle, Besinger slipped past his defender and roofed a wrister over the glove of Wentworth goaltender Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) for the quick 1-0 lead.
The Gulls went on to capitalize on the momentum provided from Besinger's goal, which sent the capacity crowd into a frenzy, and never looked back.
Parker Wood (Rochester Hills, Mich.) followed with his 12th tally of the season at the 5:58 mark when he finished cross-ice feed by Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) from the right wing with a sniper into top right corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage.
Olsson went on to add his 12th goal of the year 10:05 later (16:03), while Besinger capped the scoring with an empty netter at the 18:48 mark on assists by Olsson and Josh Bowes (Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada).
Endicott goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Beverly Hills, Mich.) stopped 30 shots to improve to 16-8-2 on the season and record his third career shutout, while Miller made 37 saves in the loss (10-7-1).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott is now 2-1-0 in the all-time series against Wentworth after tonight's win.
- The Gulls are 7-5-1 at home this season.
- In their last five games, the Blue and Green have outscored their opponents 27-4 and recorded three shutouts.
- Endicott is currently 5-0-0 in its last five games, and 7-3-0 in its last ten contests.
- Tonight's game featured 94 faceoffs, including 37 alone in the first period.
- The Gulls went 53-for-94 on the night with Besinger leading the way with 22 face-off wins in total.
FOR THE FOES
- Sophomore forward Chris Sattler (East Longmeadow, Mass.) recorded six shots, offensively, and also blocked a game-high five shots, defensively.
- Miller registered at least 10 saves in each period (13 –1st | 10 – 2nd | 14 – 3rd).
- The Leopards are now 6-10-1 on the road this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (16-8-2) will host third-seeded Salve Regina (16-10-1) in the ECAC Northeast Tournament title game this Saturday at Raymond J. Bourque Arena at 3 p.m. Wentworth's season comes to a close at 10-15-2. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.