MILTON, Mass.- In an ECAC Northeast Conference match-up in men's ice hockey action on Saturday evening in Milton, Mass, Curry College defeated Becker College, 5-3 in their season opener. With the win, the Colonels improved to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Hawks fell to 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the ECAC Northeast.
The Colonels took the early lead just 5:58 into the opening frame. Freshman Patrick LeBeau (Park Ridge, Ill.) scored his first collegiate goal after receiving assists from senior Casey Brugman (Winthrop, Mass.) and freshman Alex Milhouse (Yorba Linda, Calif.). Curry went up by two, when senior Connor Hendry (Calgary, Alberta) netted his first of three goals on the night. Hendry’s three tallies earned him a hat trick, his first in his career. Seniors Ian DeLong (Kutztown, Pa.) and Brett Kaneshiro (Laguna Nigal, Calif.) were credited with the assists. Becker took just seven shots in the period, all landing on net, but the Colonels senior netminder Joe Dawson (Woodbury, Minn.) made all the stops to hold the Hawks scoreless heading into the second.
Hendry increased Curry’s lead to 3-0 to start the second period on a short-handed goal. The Hawks Mark Lotito (Staten Island, N.Y.) was called for a two minute cross-check penalty at 13:20. The Colonels won the face-off in their defensive zone and DeLong skated down the ice with the puck before dishing it off to Hendry who one-timed it past Becker’s freshman goaltender Gregg Hussey (Medford, Mass.). Becker finally got on the board just minutes later after junior Korby Anderson (Owantonna, Minn.) took a slap shot just outside of the net that went top corner over Dawson’s head. Freshman Tyler Auricchio (Henderson, Nev.) sent the pass to Anderson. The Hawks cut the Colonels lead to just one, when they netted a power-play goal with 4:48 left to play. Freshman Gerald Owen (Chesapeake, Va.) earned the goal off assists from seniors David Graham (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and junior Branden Parkhouse (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.). However, the second frame scoring frenzy did not come to an end there. Curry was able to get their fourth with only 1:50 left on the clock on another Hendry short-handed goal. DeLong earned his third assist on the night while Kaneshiro was credited with his second.
The final period saw each team tallying just one goal apiece. In the games’ third short-handed goal, Becker’s Parkhouse netted his team’s final after Curry’s Brugman was called for roughing. The Hawks won the face-off and Parkhouse went one-on-one with Dawson and slid the puck into the lower right-hand corner. With less than a minute to play in regulation, Becker pulled their goalie hoping to even the score at 4-4. The Colonel’s though didn’t give them a chance as freshman Nicholas Coppola (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) got his first-collegiate point on an unassisted empty net score.
The Colonels went 1 for 6 on power-plays, while the Hawks went 1 for 11. Curry outshot Becker 40-33.
Curry's Dawson made 30 saves in goal for the win. Becker's Hussey took the loss in net making 35 saves.
Curry's next game is away at Western New England University in an ECAC Northeast conference match on Thursday, November 15 at 7:15 p.m. Becker hosts ECAC Northeast opponent Nichols on Wednesday, November 14 for a 7:50 p.m. game start.
