No. 4 Endicott Bests Men’s Ice Hockey, 6-2

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 3, 2023) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team fell short to the top ranked Gulls of Endicott College on Friday night, falling 6-2 from the Olympia Ice Center. 

Records:

• Western New England: 7-12-1, 5-10-1 CCC
• No. 4 Endicott College: 17-1-1, 15-0-1 CCC

How it Happened:
Endicott wasted little time in the game getting on the board as Endicott's Andrew Kurapov would find the back of the net of the first shot of the game on assists from Jackson Sterrett and Primo Self to open the scoring just 24 seconds into the game. The Gulls would continue to soar, scoring their second goal just 1:02 later on the second shot of the game when Drew Lorinchak slipped a shot by Colten Lancaster on assists from Connor Beatty and Ryan Wilett to give the Gulls a quick 2-0 lead. Western New England would fight back from there and would pick up their first goal of the game at the 8:50 mark of the period when Matt Dougherty found twine through the five-hole of Endicott goalkeeper Atticus Kelly, cutting the Gulls lead to one. Daniel Demchuk picked up his first career collegiate point while Jordan Giacomin picked up the secondary assists for WNE. Endicott would come away with 12 shots in the first period while WNE sent seven on goal. 

Western New England would climb back from their early two goal deficit and scored the next goal of the game, evening the score at two when Matt Dougherty found the back of the net off an Endicott turnover in front of the goal to even the score at two. It took Endicott just 14 seconds to respond to the game tying goal as the Gulls retook the lead off a Connor Beatty goal on assists from Ryan Willett and A.J. Martinelli to get the Gulls back in front, 3-2. The period would end with that score, as Endicott peppered Colten Lancaster with 18 shots in the period, while Lancaster made 17 saves. WNE came through with eight shots of their own in the period. 

The third period would belong to Endicott as the Gulls came away with three third period goals to secure the win. Blake Benson would pot his first career goal with Endicott, a shorthanded tally, while Connor Amsley and Matt Giroux would finish the scoring for the fourth ranked Gulls as Endicott came away with the 6-2 win on Friday night.

Inside the Crease:

• Colten Lancaster made 41 saves on 47 shots faced, keeping WNE in the contest. 
• Matt Dougherty scored two goals for the Golden Bears in the game. Dougherty's two goals puts him at seven for the season and is now second in points with 18 this season for WNE. 
• Neither team scored on the powerplay tonight, as EC went 0/4 while WNE failed on all five attempts. 
• Endicott left with 47 shots on goal while the Golden Bears came away with 20.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE heads to Salve Regina University on Saturday, February 3, 2023 at 7:30 pm for a crucial CCC showdown.