PAWTUCKET, R.I. – Parker Wood (Rochester Hills, Mich.) buried his first career game-winning goal with 2:24 remaining in the contest to lift Endicott to a 3-2 victory over Johnson & Wales University (JWU) in conference action on Thursday night at Lynch Arena.
Wood found the back of the net late in the matchup (17:36) against the Wildcats when he quickly pounced on a loose puck in front of the crease and fired it through traffic past junior goaltender Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.).
The Gulls had held a 2-0 advantage headed into the third period after Joseph Kaszupski (Henderson, Nev.) and Josh Bowes (Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada) notched goals just 1:34 apart from each other in the second.
JWU countered with tallies from Ryan Sete (Jackson, Mich.) and Connor Bates (Laconia, N.H.) at 2:20 and 12:01 (power play), respectively, in the third before Wood potted his team-leading fifth goal of the season to keep Endicott unbeaten over its last four games (3-0-1).
Freshman goaltender Kevin Aldridge (Beverly Hills, Mich.) stopped 38 shots to improve to 3-1-2 on the season, while Ballmer collected 20 saves in the loss (2-1-2).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott's current four-game unbeaten streak includes wins against JWU (3-2, Nov. 19), Wentworth (5-3, Nov. 14), and Salve Regina (7-5, Nov. 12), and a tie against Suffolk (1-1 OT, Nov. 7).
- John Carricato (Ridge, N.Y.), Trace Jablin (St. Louis, Mo.), Shamus Maloney (North Attleboro, Mass.), Cam Bleck (Lake Forrest, Ill.), and Thomas Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) all picked up assists in the win.
- The assists for Carricato, Jablin, and Maloney were the first helpers of their respective collegiate careers.
- Endicott went 27-for-69 on face-offs.
- Bowes and Daniels tied for the team-high in face-off wins with eight apiece.
- Aldridge has recorded 30 or more saves during the Gulls' four-game unbeaten streak (38-JWU, 51-Wentworth, 31-Salve Regina, 37-Suffolk).
FOR THE FOES
- JWU went 42-for-69 at the face-off dot.
- Cody Sarmiento (Sarasota, Fla.) paced all centers with an 11-for-18 showing in face-off wins/attempts.
- Bates scored his team-leading fourth goal of the 2015-16 campaign, while Sete registered his second tally of the year.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (3-1-2, 3-1-1 ECAC Northeast) takes on Becker College in a conference matchup this Saturday on the road at 5:10 p.m. JWU (2-1-2, 1-1-2 ECAC Northeast) visits Suffolk University on Saturday at 7 p.m. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
