MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — Senior forward Jackson Sterrett (Hendersonville, Tenn.) completed his first career hat-trick with 1.8-seconds remaining in regulation to lift the No. 10 Endicott men's ice hockey team past No. 14 Salve Regina, 3-2, on Saturday night.
The Gulls buried the game-winner with a full-team effort as time dwindled down in the third.
Collin Kleiser (Churchville, Pa.) initiated the tally by clearing the puck out of Endicott's defensive end along the bench-side boards.
Sterrett swiftly corralled the puck and bounced a pass off the sideboards to Michael Casey (Media, Pa.) for an easy zone entry up the right wing.
Following a deke move to create space at the right faceoff dot, Casey dumped the puck off for Kurapov who stick-handled his way into the slot, creating a 2-on-1 opportunity against the Seahawks' netminder.
Kurapov elected to slip a pass to Sterrett at the left post and the 5-11 forward sniped his fourth career game-winner past Cayden Bailey (Estero, Fla.) to send the Gulls' bench into a frenzy.
Sterrett's other two tallies came in the first (15:30, doorstep rebound) and second periods (12:52, wrister on edge of left faceoff dot near slot), respectively.
Meanwhile, Kurapov finished the game with a career-high three assists (two primary).
In goal, Ryan Wilson (Shelton, Conn.) made 21 saves to improve to 4-1-0 on the season (15-4-0 career).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott leads the all-time series 11-9-1.
- Sterrett now ranks first on the team in goals with six.
- The Gulls handed Salve Regina its first home loss of the season (3-1-0).
- Endicott trailed 1-0 and 2-1 in the contest.
WHAT'S NEXT
No. 10 Endicott (6-2-2, 5-1-2 CCC) hosts UMass Boston on Friday, December 8 at 7 PM. No. 14 Salve Regina (9-3-1, 6-1-1 CCC) visits New England College on Tuesday, December 5 at 7 PM.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
