BEVERLY, Mass. – Sophomore Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) netted a pair of third-period goals to snap a 1-all tie and lift the Endicott College ice hockey team to a 3-1 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest played at Raymond J. Bourque Rink.
The Gulls, ranked 11th in the country in the USCHO.com Division III Poll and 12th in the D3Hockey.com Poll, improve to 16-3-2 overall and 10-3-1 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 4-14-3 overall and 2-10-2 in CCC play. Ten of Wentworth's losses have come by a combined 15 goals, including dropping both games to Endicott by 3-1 scores.
Endicott nearly took a 1-0 lead in the opening seconds of the contest, however junior Ryan Hubbard (West Roxbury, Mass.) made a sliding save to his right to keep the puck out of the net.
The Gulls took a 1-0 lead late in the first period as freshman Jack Kilty (Medway, Mass.) scored off passes from sophomore Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alta.) and junior Connor Costello (Nottingham, N.H.). Kilty's shot snuck inside the right post.
Despite getting outshot 20-6 in the opening period, Wentworth rebounded with several quality scoring chances in the second and tied the game at the 14:14 mark. Sophomore Matthew Kennedy (Mount Pearl, N.L.) put home a shot to the top right corner after receiving passes from freshman CJ Grinnell (Burlington, Mass.) and senior Jake Flynn (Lino, Lakes, Minn.). Wentworth had a 14-11 shot advantage in the period.
Besinger scored the game winner just 1:20 into the third period as he scored from sophomore Cam Bleck (Lake Forest, Ill.). Late in the contest Hubbard was pulled for an extra attacker, however Besinger sealed the win with an empty-net marker with 22 seconds left.
Junior Kevin Aldridge (Birmingham, Mich.) made 28 saves while Hubbard was stellar between the pipes, making 47 saves. Endicott had a 50-29 shot advantage. The Leopards were 4-4 on the penalty kill and have now successfully killed off 19 straight shorthanded situations.
Wentworth hosts Western New England on Thursday.
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