Dec. 1, 2007
HAMILTON, MA - The Endicott College special teams were on display Saturday night as the Gulls notched two power-play goals and two shorthanded tallies to skate past the University of New England, 6-0, in Hamilton, Massachusetts.
Despite a lopsided 57-10 shot advantage for the Gulls, it took nearly 17 minutes before the Blue and Green found the back of the net. A cross-checking minor put Endicott on the shorthand, however senior assistant captain Brian Sullivan (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) notched a man-down goal off a pass from Brett Erickson (Leominster, MA/St. Bernards) to give EC the 1-0 lead.
The Gulls would skate into the dressing room with a 2-0 advantage as fellow assistant captain Gabe Carreiro (Chatham, MA/North Field Mt. Hermon) notched an even-strength goal off Erickson's second assist of the period, beating UNE goalkeeper Miker Roper (Trenton, Nova Scotia/North Nova Education Center) with just 11 ticks left in the first.
In the second, Endicott put the game away as the Blue and Green scored three of their four second period goals in a four minute span, upping their lead to 5-0. Sophomore defenseman Mike Vacca (North Reading, MA/North Reading) capped off the scoring as he buried the Gulls' second power-play goal of the night off a pass from Greg Dorman (Merrimack, NH/Merrimack), sending Endicott to the 6-0 win.
Senior forward Brian Sullivan ended the night with a pair of goals while Brett Erickson and Jeff Berlin (Durham, NH/Oyster River) also notched two assists apiece. Senior netminder Josh Provost (West Rutland, VT/Mount St. Joseph Academy) won his third consecutive start as he picked up the shutout, turning away 10 shots in the win. UNE goaltender Miker Roper made 51 saves in the loss. The Nor'easters were blanked for the first time of the season on Saturday.
With the win, Endicott improves to 6-7-1 overall and 4-2-0 in the NECHA. The setbacks drops UNE to 0-6-1 (0-5-0 NECHA). Endicott returns to action this coming weekend as they hit the road for a Connecticut-filled weekend with a Saturday showdown with Central Connecticut State at 9:00 p.m.; and then a Sunday matinee with Western Connecticut at 2:00 p.m. in Danbury.
