CCC QUARTERFINALS: No. 7/9 Endicott Topples Western New England, 8-3

RAPID REACTION w/ TOMMY DANIELS

BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott men's ice hockey team downed eighth-seeded Western New England University (WNEU), 8-3, in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday evening at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.

With the win, No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott (21-3-2) will host sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales University next Wednesday at 7 PM in the CCC Tournament semifinals. WNEU's season comes to a close at 8-16-2 overall.

The Golden Bears struck first just 1:48 into the contest when CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) deflected Connor Graham's (Norfolk, Mass.) shot from the point into the back of the net, but after that it was all Endicott as the Gulls scored six unanswered goals to put the game away.

Jack Musil (Hull, England) knotted the game up at 1-1 with his 11th goal of the season on a drive from the right wing at the 8:43 mark of the period, while Thomas Daniels (St. Louis, Mo.) gave the Gulls a 2-1 advantage when he put home Bump Lisk's (Lawrenceville, N.J.) rebound into the net near the right post at 14:39.

During Endicott's 6-0 spurt, the Gulls also received tallies from John Carricato (Ridge, N.Y.), Daniels, Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.), and Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.), in that order, with the final goal from Besinger coming at 13:52 of the second.

Both teams went on to exchange two goals each over the remainder of the contest.

Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) made 45 saves in the win (18-3-2), while Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) had 47 saves in the loss (8-13-2).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 5-0-0 in the all-time series.
• The Gulls have outscored the Golden Bears 33-6 during those matchups.
• Prior to today's game, Endicott had shut out WNEU in their last three meetings.
• Eight goals is a new playoff record for the Gulls.
• The previous high was four vs. Wentworth in a 4-0 win over the Leopards on March 2, 2016 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Northeast semifinals.
• Bleck and Musil scored the remaining two goals for the Gulls at 11:16 and 13:51 of the third period.
• Logan Day's (Seminole, Fla.) three assists also established a new single-game playoff record.

FOR THE FOES

• Matt O'Dea (Orlando Park, Ill.) and Josh Twietmeyer (Weston, Fla.) had the other two goals for WNEU. O'Dea scored his in the second period at 18:46, while Twietmeyer notched his tally at 15:17 of the third.
• Gollmer has made 40 saves or more in back-to-back games for the Golden Bears.
• Totillo led the team in points with two (one goal, one assist).

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 7/9 nationally ranked Endicott (21-3-2) will host sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales University next Wednesday at 7 PM in the CCC Tournament semifinals. WNEU's season comes to a close at 8-16-2 overall. 

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