CANTON, Mass. – The No. 3 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team defeated No. 6 Curry in a shootout (1-0) on Friday night in an instant classic at the Canton Ice House. Tonight's contest officially goes down as a 2-2 tie, but due to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) standings point structure, the Gulls picked up an extra point in the league standings.
Trailing 2-1 with less than a minute left in regulation and the extra skater deployed for the Gulls, Jackson Sterrett (Henderson, Tenn.) pounced on a loose puck near the left post and ripped home the game-tying goal (19:21) from a tough angle past Reid Cooper (Corman Park, Saskatchewan), who was out of position after making an outstanding save on a redirect.
Both teams produced numerous scoring opportunities in overtime, with Endicott outshooting Curry 7-3, but both goalies went stop-for-stop setting the stage for a dramatic shootout.
Andrew Kurapov (Corvallis, Ore.) buried the lone attempt in the shootout, while Atticus Kelly (St. Paul, Minn.) stonewalled the Colonels on his end to secure the extra point. Kelly (8-0-1) finished the contest with 29 saves.
Zach Mazur (Lancaster, N.Y.) opened up the scoring just 1:25 into the contest via a one-timer from the slot on a feed from Ryan Willett (Bayville, N.Y.).
Curry found the equalizer 5:15 later before taking the lead with a shorthanded tally at 12:02 of the second.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Tonight's game marked the highest nationally ranked matchup in CCC men's ice hockey history.
- Endicott and Curry are also ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the PairWise rankings, respectively.
- The Gulls are 8-0-1 on the road this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 3 Endicott (15-1-1, 13-0-1 CCC) hosts No. 6 Curry (15-2-1, 11-2-1 CCC) tomorrow at 3 PM.
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(Photo Credit - Leanna Puccio '24)
