HARTFORD, Conn. – Trinity College junior forward Anthony Sabitsky (Sicklerville, N.J.) tipped in his 17th goal of the season at the 4:15 mark of double overtime to lift the Bantams past Endicott, 2-1, in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at the Koeppel Center.
Sabitsky provided Trinity with the game-winner he when redirected a feed from Ryan Cole (Anchorage, Alaska) just inside the left post behind Endicott netminder Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.).
With tonight's victory, Trinity (20-6-3) will play the winner of St. Norbert/Augsburg in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Friday, March 24 in Utica, New York at 6:30 PM. Meanwhile, the Gulls record-setting season comes to a close at 24-4-2 overall. The 24 wins for Endicott is a single-season program record, while their appearance in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament also marks the Gulls' longest run in the postseason not only for the program, but also for the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC).
Aldridge was the difference for Endicott in the contest as the junior goaltender set Endicott's single-game program record for saves with 67 total. Aldridge had 21 in the first, 13 in the second, 20 more in the third, 12 in the first overtime, and one in the final extra session.
He also fell one save shy of entering the NCAA Division III record book top-25 list for single-game saves, and three saves away from tying the single-game NCAA Tournament record of 70 set B.J. O'Brien of St. Norbert against Norwich in 2010.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alberta) gave Endicott a 1-0 lead on the power play at 3:12 of the second on a one-timer from the right face-off circle via passes from Carter Horwitz (Tustin, Calif.) and Jack Musil (Hull, England).
- It was Bowes' 12th goal of the season (third power play), and Endicott's 43rd power play tally of the year.
- The Gulls entered tonight's contest as the No. 2 ranked power play in all of NCAA Division III.
- Aldridge shattered his previous single-game program record for saves by 15 total.
- Trinity and Endicott combined for a staggering 119 total shots in the instant-classic which took 84:15 to be decided.
- Endicott came into tonight's game ranked No. 7 in both the D3hockey.com and USCHO.com national polls in just its second year as an NCAA Division III varsity program.
FOR THE FOES
- Sean Orlando (Ivyland, Pa.) evened up the matchup at 15:28 of the second with a power play goal set up by Sabitsky and Liam Feeney (Foxboro, Mass.).
- Alex Morin (St. Hubert, Quebec) made 49 saves to improve to 18-6-3 on the season.
- Morin had 15 saves in the first, 10 in the second, an additional eight in the third, and 16 combined over the last two overtime periods.
WHAT'S NEXT
Trinity (20-6-3) will play the winner of St. Norbert/Augsburg in the NCAA Tournament semifinals on Friday, March 24 in Utica, New York at 6:30 PM. Meanwhile, the Gulls record-setting season comes to a close at 24-4-2 overall. The 24 wins for Endicott is a single-season program record, while their appearance in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament also marks the Gulls' longest run in the postseason not only for the program, but also for the CCC. For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
