CCC QUARTERFINALS: Dominant First Period Sends Endicott Past Suffolk, 10-2

BEVERLY, Mass. – The No. 11/11 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team scored seven goals in the first period en route to an eventual 10-2 victory over Suffolk University in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) quarterfinals on Saturday evening at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.

Endicott (18-5-3), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will host No. 3 seeded University of New England on Saturday, February 24 in the semifinal round at 3 PM. Meanwhile, No. 7 seed Suffolk sees its 2017-18 season come to a close at 9-13-3.

Anthony Petrella (Hilton, N.Y.), Joseph Slovak (South Yarmouth, Mass.), Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.), Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.), Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alberta), Connor Costello (Nottingham, N.H.), and Jack Musil (Hull, England) all scored in the Gulls' seven-goal first period and the game was pretty much over from there. Petrella started the offensive outburst at the 2:07 mark of the period by punching home a rebound near the left post and the rest of his teammates followed with tallies at 5:49, 7:31, 12:44, 13:14, 16:01, and 16:10, respectively.

Endicott also added one goal in the second – also scored by Petrella – and two more in the third (Slovak, Bowes) to run away with the victory.

Mark Specia (Ringwood, N.J.) made 12 saves in two periods (39:53) to improve to 11-2-1, while Justin Ketola (Esko, Minn.) stopped 10 shots in the third.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 5-1-0 at home in the playoffs.
• The Gulls are 6-0-1 against Suffolk in the all-time series.
• Slovak finished with a career-high and program-record-tying five points (2g, 3a) tonight.
• Petrella (2g, 2a) and Bowes' (2g, 2a) four-point nights rank tied for sixth all-time in a single-game, respectively.
• Endicott's 10-goal output is tied for third all-time in a single-game

FOR THE FOES

• Brian Brooks (Canton, Mass.) broke up the shutout bid at 15:24 of the second. Jack Kelly (Arlington, Mass.) and Nick Abbene (Merrick, N.Y.) were credited with assists on the goal.
• Jack Jenkins (Billerica, Mass.) notched his third goal of the season at 19:15 of the third off feeds from Matt Bucher (Cromwell, Conn.) and Mikhail Bryan (Dayton, Ohio).
• Michael Levine (Clarendon Hill, Ill.) had 13 saves in the first period, while Will Ribas (Westwood, Mass.) compiled 30 saves over the final 46:46 of action off the bench.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 11/11 Endicott (18-5-3), who is also positioned as the No. 2 seed in the CCC tournament, will host No. 3 seeded University of New England on Saturday, February 24 in the semifinal round at 3 PM. Meanwhile, Suffolk sees its 2017-18 season come to a close at 9-13-3. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10