WORCESTER, Mass. – The Curry College men's ice hockey team closed out the regular season with a 10-1 victory over Becker College on Saturday evening at the Worcester Ice Center in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play. The 10 goals mark a season-high in that category and the programs highest mark since 2011-12. The Colonels now sit at 16-6-3 overall and 11-4-2 in the CCC while the Hawks finish the year with an overall record of 3-21-1 with a 2-14-1 mark in league play.
Curry was the first to get on the board in the first period. With just one second left in the opening frame, freshman Alex Ochterbeck (Dallas, Texas) put the visitors in the scoring column with his sixth goal of the season to grab a 1-0 lead. The assists on the marker were awarded to freshman Mic Curran (Arlington, Mass.) and sophomore Viktor Jansson (Stockholm, Sweden). The Colonels held a 19-7 advantage in shots in the stanza.
Curry outscored Becker 3-0 in the second period to stretch the lead to 4-0. Junior Billy Vizzo (Shelton, Conn.) tallied his first of three goals 6:25 into the frame with the helpers going to sophomores Kasper Kjellkvist (Vaxjo, Sweden) and Joseph Thielen (Huntington Beach, Calif.). Senior captain Zach White (Milford, Conn.) continued the scoring stretch with his team-leading 20th goal of the season with 6:47 left. The marker was set up by senior assistant captain Lionel Mauron (Lausanne, Switzerland) and freshman Nick Magill-Diaz (Clawson, Mich.). The Colonels tacked on its final goal of the period, one of the power-play variety from freshman Kalle Sundell (Helsinki, Finland) at 17:39. Kjellkvist picked up the assist on the marker. Curry dominated the shot category in the middle period, 19-3.
The final period saw Becker get on the board first, thanks to a power-play goal from freshman Jason Diamond (Lakeville, Conn.) 4:14 into the frame. The Hawks' lone marker was assisted by freshman Zachary Bettmeng (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and senior Corey Schafer (Johnstown, Pa.). The Colonels then answered with a 6-0 scoring run, three straight of which came on the power play. Vizzo answered the Becker tally with his second of the contest just 2:07 after the Hawks' goal. The goal was assisted by Kjellkvist and junior Jordan Williamson (Okotoks, AB). Sundell continued the scoring streak with a goal 10:38 into the period. The helpers on the goal were awarded to Kjellkvist and Thielen. Thielen, Vizzo, and White netted power-play goals to push the lead to 9-1 while Williamson capped off the game scoring with a goal with 19 seconds remaining in regulation to make the final score 10-1.
The Colonels outshot the Hawks, 55-16 and were an impressive 4-for-7 on the PP while Becker was 1-for-3.
Curry's junior goalie Justin Ketola (Cloquet, Minn.) recorded 15 saves in net for the win. Becker's junior goaltender Grant Martens (Bloomington, Mich.) made an impressive 39 stops before giving way to sophomore Ryan Clifford (Coventry, R.I.) who tallied six saves.
With Salve Regina's 2-1 victory over the University of New England on Saturday night, the Colonels have clinched the number two seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming CCC Tournament. Curry will host a semifinal game on Saturday, February 23. Opponent and game time are still yet to be determined.
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