BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team punched its ticket to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Wednesday night with a 4-2 victory over Johnson & Wales University (JWU) at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
With the win, first-seeded Endicott (22-3-2) will host the University of New England (15-9-2) this Saturday in the CCC title game at 7:30 PM. The fifth-seeded Nor'easters defeated No. 2 seed Nichols earlier tonight by a 6-3 score to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, with the loss, sixth-seeded JWU's season comes to a close at 11-12-4 overall.
Tied 2-2 late in the second, Endicott sophomore center Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) buried home a second attempt shot from the slot off an odd-man rush to push the Gulls ahead 3-2 with 18:03 elapsed in the period.
Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) then doubled Endicott's advantage in the third (10:37) with a bomb (slap shot) from the right point after Jack Musil (Hull, England) won a 50/50 puck near the boards.
JWU tested the Gulls down the stretch, but Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) held true in net stopping all five shots on goal from the Wildcats to secure the victory. Aldridge's defense also blocked five shots during that time span.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott has yet to lose to JWU in the all-time series (5-0-0).
- The Gulls also extended their winning streak to 10 straight games, and bumped their record at home to 13-2-0 on the season.
- Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) put Endicott on the scoreboard first just 2:04 into the contest.
- Day's first of two goals on the night gave the Gulls a 2-1 lead at the 17:30 mark of the first period.
- Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.) had three assists on the night, while Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.) had two primary assists – including the helper on Besinger's game-winner.
- Aldridge finished the night with 25 saves to improve to 19-3-2 on the year.
FOR THE FOES
- Ben Brouillard (Somerset, Mass.) tied up the game at 1-1 with his ninth goal of the season at 4:28 of the first, while Connor Bates (Laconia, N.H.) made it 2-2 at 6:47 of the second with his 12th of the year.
- Brouillard's goal came off a blocked shot in front of the crease, while Bates redirected Michael Mazzotta's (Mars, Pa.) slapper from the right point directly in the slot.
- Bates led all student-athletes with 18 face-off wins.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 1 seed Endicott (22-3-2) will host No. 5 seed the University of New England (15-9-2) this Saturday in the CCC title game at 7:30 PM. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
