EVERETT, Mass. – Junior Logan Day's (Seminole, Fla.) goal with 1:50 remaining in regulation snapped a 1-all tie and lifted the Endicott College ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over Wentworth Institute of Technology in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener for both squads.
With the win, the Gulls, ranked 10th in the D3Hockey.com Poll and 12th in the USCHO.com Division III Men's Poll, improve to 1-1 on the season while the Leopards fall to 0-3.
Endicott nearly scored on its first shot attempt of the net as junior Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alta.) rang a shot off the crossbar. However, it would be Wentworth which would have the scoring chances for most of the first period and, after a late flurry of Gull shots, would host a 12-11 shot advantage through the first 20 minutes of play.
The Leopards took a 1-0 lead at the 9:44 mark of the second period, just 22 seconds into a 5x3 power play situation. Junior Ethan Weiss (Troy, N.Y.) slid a pass to sophomore Connor Busch (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) who fired a shot wide of the net. Sophomore Georgy Gorodetskii (Yekaterinburg, Russia) gained control of the carom and put home a shot inside the right post. With 36 seconds remaining in the second period, Day found junior Ross Olsson (Billerica, Mass.) who evened the score at 1-all.
Endicott carried play for the majority of the third period, outshooting Wentworth by a 17-4 margin. However, senior Ryan Hubbard (West Roxbury, Mass.) kept the game tied with many key saves, including a pair from point-blank range. The Gulls tied the score when senior Jack Musil (Skidby, England) won a faceoff to junior Carter Horwitz (Tustin, Calif.) who slid a pass to Day, whose shot beat Hubbard to the left side.
With 1:05 remaining, Hubbard was pulled for an extra attacker. The Leopards had a pair of shots, both of which were saved by junior Mark Specia (Ringwood, N.J.), as the Gulls held on for the win.
Specia made 29 saves for Endicott, while Hubbard made 40 stops for Wentworth. The Gulls had a 42-30 shot advantage.
The two teams will complete their home-and-home weekend series on Saturday afternoon in Beverly.
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