EAST BOSTON, Mass. – The second-seeded Endicott women's ice hockey team fell to first-seeded Suffolk, 2-1, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Saturday evening at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.
Suffolk jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the first two periods behind tallies from Madison Duff (1st, 3:32) and Sofia Scilipoti (2nd, 18:32, PP) before holding off a valiant Gulls' comeback bid.
Midway through the third period, Nicole Connor (Wrentham, Mass.) brought Endicott within one at the 11:12 mark on feeds from Ashley Keaveney (Exeter, N.H.) and Emmerson Hayes (Los Angeles, Calif.).
The Gulls continued to pressure for the game-tying goal, but two saves by Lily O'Neil and two blocked shots from the Rams' defense withstood the late onslaught.
O'Neil finished her stellar championship performance in between the pipes with a season-high-tying 40 stops. She had 10 saves in the first, 16 more in the second, and 15 in the final stanza.
Meanwhile, Michaela O'Brien (Pembroke, Mass.) compiled 23 saves on the other end for the Gulls.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott's three-year run as conference champions.
- Suffolk claimed its first CCC Championship in program history.
- The Rams improved to 11-3-0 at home this season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (17-8-2) awaits a possible at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is set to air on Sunday, March 5 at 8:30 PM.
Suffolk (18-7-2) has earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will find out its next opponent on Sunday night.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)
