BIDDEFORD, Maine — Sophomore forward Michael Casey (Media, Pa.) scored the game-tying and game-winning goals in the Conference of New England (CNE) Tournament semifinals to lift the No. 15 Endicott men's ice hockey team over No. 10 University of New England (UNE), 4-3 (OT), on Saturday evening at the Harold Alfond Forum.
Similarliy to the Gulls CNE quarterfinal contest on Wednesday night, Endicott go on the scoreboard first with just 51 seconds remaining in the first period, as Domenic Garozzo (Sewell, N.J.) beat the Nor'Easters goalie five-hole for his 17th tally of the season.
UNE potted the next three goals and led the 3-1 in the third period before Jackson Sterrett (Hendersonville, Tenn.) cut the lead to one at the 3:29 mark. Primo Self (Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Sterrett were able to start a 2-on-1 opprtunity out of the defensive zone and the Hendersonville, Tenn. took the pass from Self and dangled past a sliding Nor'Easter defender, beating the goalie top shelf.
Still trailing 3-2 with under two minutes to play, the Blue and Green capitalized with the extra skater on the ice, as Casey fired home the equalizer off a rebound chance following a Self shot. Casey won the offensive faceoff to Garozzo who found Self open at the left point. Self's shot was stopped by the left pad but the puck kicked right to Casey and he fired home the equalizer.
Just 58 seconds into the extra period, Casey tipped a Brad Zona (Auburn, Mass.) shot from the right point past the UNE goalie, punching the Gulls ticket in the CNE Championship game next Saturday.
Atticus Kelly (St. Paul, Minn.) made 28 saves in the victory as his record improves to 13-4-0 this season.
BEYOND THE BOX
- Endicott is now 3-2 all-time versus UNE in the playoffs with three games finishing in OT.
- First multi-goal game in the playoffs for Casey.
- Self is the first player since Logan Day (Seminole, Fla.) (2/25/17 vs WNE) to record three or more assists in a playoff contest.
- The Gulls has a 6-2 overall record in playoff overtime contests (6-1 in conference playoff overtimes).
WHAT'S NEXT
Third-seeded Endicott (19-7-1) advances to the CNE Championship, where they will square off with first-seeded Curry on Saturday, March 8 for a 3 PM showdown. UNE sees its regular season close with a record of 18-7-1 and will hope to receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. They await the NCAA Selection Show, which airs Monday, March 10 at 10 AM.
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(Photo Credit - UNE Athletics)
