NCAA SEMIFINALS: Hobart Bests Endicott To Advance To Title Game; 3-1 

ENDICOTT PRESS CONFERENCE | HOBART PRESS CONFERENCE

BEVERLY, Mass. - The No. 4 nationally ranked Endicott men's ice hockey team fell to No. 2 Hobart, 3-1, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship Tournament on Friday evening at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.

Tonight's contest marked the first time Endicott College has competed in an NCAA Division III National Semifinal in any sport and the first time an NCAA Division III National Championship game has been hosted on the seaside campus.

FIRST PERIOD

• Endicott tallied five more shots on goal, 9-4.
• Each team had two penalties in the opening stanza resulting in two power play attempts, but both came up empty.
• The Gulls controlled the faceoff dot winning 14 out of 25 battles in the circle.

SECOND PERIOD

• The first tally of the game came from Endicott's Jackson Sterrett (Hendersonville, Tenn.)  following a turnover to give the Gulls the 1-0 advantage at the 15:26 mark in the period. 
• Hobart got on the scoreboard courtesy of a Brenden Howell (Rochester, N.Y.) goal from Matthieu Wuth (Westminster, Colo.) and Artem Buzoverya (Kharkiv, Ukraine) to deadlock the game at 1-1 at the 13:59 mark.
• Both squads threatened in the final minutes but had no goals to show for their respective chances.
• Hobart held the edge in shots on goal, 12-10.

THIRD PERIOD

• Austin Mourar (Spring City, Pa.) buried the eventual game-winning goal on sweet feeds from Shane Shell (Westfield, N.J.) and Cooper Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) with 6:51 to play in the matchup.
• Luke Aquaro (Yardley, Pa.) netted the empty net insurance goal with 39 seconds left. 

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Statesmen extended their winning streak to 11 games, which dates back to January 27. 
• Hobart evened the all-time series against Endicott, 1-1.
• Both games in the series have come in the NCAA Tournament (4-3 | 3/11/2017). 
• Before tonight's matchup, Endicott was 14-0-2 when scoring first. 
• On the other side, Hobart was 7-1 when opponents scored first.
• Hobart is 3-0-0 when tied after two periods. 
• Sunday's contest will be Mark Taylor's first national championship game appearance.
• R.J. Tolan (Endicott) & Taylor were both finalists for the 2022-23 AHCA Men's Ice Hockey Edward Jeremiah Award (College Division Coach of the Year). 
• Taylor won the award.

WHAT'S NEXT

Hobart (28-2-0) will take on Adrian for the NCAA Division III Men's Hockey Championship game on Sunday, March 26 at 7 PM. Endicott's season comes to a close with a 23-3-2 record. 

* Tickets for the national championship game will go on sale Saturday (March 25) at 10 AM (PURCHASE TICKETS) 

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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)