SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - A two goal night by junior forward Daniel Kucerovy (Bethel Park, Pa.) helped the No. 8/9 ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team remained unbeaten in their Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) slate as the Gulls earned a 5-3 victory over league opponent Western New England at the Olympia Ice Center Friday evening.
Kucerovy broke a 2-2 tie at the 12:12 mark of the second period off an assist from junior defenseman Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) and later helped seal the win with his second tally of the game with 6:30 remaining in regulation with the assist going to senior forward Anthony Petrella (Hilton, N.Y.). Day had two assists in the game, upping his season total to nine midway into the third period as junior forward Thomas Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) pushed Endicott ahead 4-3. The Gulls also saw first period goals scored by junior forward Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), unassisted, and sophomore forward Jack Kilty (Medway, Mass.), assisted by Petrella and Kucerovy.
Between the pipes, sophomore goaltender Justin Ketola (Esko, Minn.) improved to 4-0 on the season thanks to 22 saves on 25 shots faced on net.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott 5-0 in the all-time series against Western New England.
- The Gulls improved to 2-0 in Olympia Ice Center against the Golden Bears since Western New England returned to the rink in the 2016-17 season.
- Three Endicott student-athletes won at least 10 face-offs including a game-high 14 from senior forward Jack Musil (Hull, England).
- Endicott is 5-0-0 on the road this season.
- Bowes' sixth goal of the season, the first on the scoreboard in this game, was his fifth career short-handed goal.
- Endicott outshot Western New England 54-25.
- Endicott has held opponents scoreless with the man-advantage for the last three games (0-for-19).
FOR THE FOES
- Junior forward Steve Beck (Milton, N.Y.) provided much of the offense for Western New England with two goals and an assist.
- Beck is the team's leading point-getter with nine goals and eight assists on the year.
- Senior forward Matt Smethurst (Rexford, N.Y.) tallied the Golden Bears' third goal while adding an assist.
- Junior goalie Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) dropped to 3-6-1. He made 49 saves in the loss.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 8/9 Endicott (8-1-0, 7-0-0 CCC) completes the home-and-home series with Western New England (4-6-1, 1-5-1 CCC) tomorrow at 4:30 PM at the Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
