BEVERLY, Mass. – University of New England freshman center Ryan Bloom (Northville, Mich.) netted the game-winning goal with 3.3-seconds remaining in overtime to give the Nor'easters a 4-3 conference win over No. 12/12 nationally ranked Endicott on Saturday evening at Raymond J. Bourque Arena. The victory for the Nor'easters also snapped Endicott's 12-game winning streak, which was the longest activing winning streak among all three NCAA divisions entering play today.
Bloom scored the game-winning tally by winning his own neutral zone face-off, splitting a pair of defenders, and shooting a wrister, top-shelve glove side, on a partially screened Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) into the top-right corner of the net for his ninth goal of the season (third GWG).
The neutral zone face-off – which took place with roughly eight seconds to play in the contest – wouldn't have been made possible if it weren't for an extra-effort play from Trevor Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) in UNE's defensive end.
Fleurent caused the neutral zone face-off by diving and deflecting an Endicott D-to-D pass that came from the right point all the way down to the Gulls' defensive end, originally resulting in an icing violation. After all four referees met at center ice, it was determined that the next face-off would be taken there, eventually leading to Bloom's game-winner.
UNE goaltender Tate Sproxton (Surrey, British Columbia) compiled 38 saves in the win (5-2-1), while Aldridge stopped 30 shots in the loss (10-3-2).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott never led in today's matchup.
- Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) tied up the game at 1-1 at the 8:25 mark of the second period, while Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) and Carter Horwitz (Tustin, Calif.) forced OT with goals at 3:05 and 8:32 of the third, respectively.
- Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) won a team-high 14 face-offs.
FOR THE FOES
- Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine), T. Fleurent, Tucker Ross (Ashburn, Va.), and Bloom all scored for the Nor'easters. B. Fleurent added his 12th of the season in the first, while Fleurent (13) and Ross (4) scored in the second before Bloom's tally in OT.
- Dustin Walsh (Concord, N.H.) blocked a game-high five shots.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (12-3-2, 6-3-1 CCC) hosts Nichols on Thursday, January 26 at 7 PM. UNE (8-6-2, 5-4-2 CCC) welcomes Western New England to its campus next Thursday at 7 PM. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.