CCC SEMIFINALS: No. 13/14 Salve Regina Shuts Out Men’s Ice Hockey, 1-0

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. – The fifth-seeded Endicott men's ice hockey team fell to first-seeded Salve Regina, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament at Portsmouth Abbey Rink.

The Seahawks, who are nationally ranked in both the USCHO (13) and D3hockey (14) polls, received the game-winning goal from Paul Boutoussov (Dana Point, Calif.) at the 18:55 mark of the second period. Boutoussov potted the lone goal of the game on a second chance opportunity directly in front of the net.

Meanwhile, in goal for Endicott, Conor O'Brien (Pinellas Park, Fla.) made 36 saves in the loss (11-8-2). O'Brien's counterpart, Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.), stopped 36 shots to improve to 17-6-2 and record his second shutout of the season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Salve Regina is 8-2-0 all-time against Endicott.
• The Gulls have advanced to the semifinal round or better in all four years of the program's history.
• The Seahawks have now won seven games in a row and are 8-2-1 at home this season.
• O'Brien has made 30 or more saves in 11 contests this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 13/14 Salve Regina (18-6-2) will play the winner of third-seeded UNE and second-seeded Curry in the CCC Championship at home on Saturday, March 2 at a time to be determined later. Endicott's 2018-19 season comes to a close at 16-9-2 overall. 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)