Canton, MA - The Curry Men's Hockey team won their 16th straight game on Saturday, defeating their rival #12 Endicott in the CNE Championship game by a final score of 5-2. The Gulls season ends at 19-8-1, while the Colonels will move on to the NCAA Tournament. This marked the first time the Colonels have beaten the Gulls in postseason play, having previously fallen to the Gulls in 2022 and 2023.

The Colonels started the scoring off 15 minutes into the first when Matt Connor used some nifty skating to get some space, and fired the puck home. The Colonels would take that 1-0 lead into the first intermission. About eight minutes into the second period, the Gulls tied things up. But the Colonels were quick to respond, retaking the lead just two minutes later when after a scrum in front of the net, Grady Friedman scored.

The Colonels really started to pile things one in the third, as Manny Cabral scored just 90 seconds into the period, really taking any wind out of the Gulls sails. Cabral scored in all four games against Endicott this season. With six minutes left, JP Moreira had the dagger, as he scored a short handed goal. Karim Gayfullin would get the exclamation point, scoring an empty netter. The Gulls would get a power play goal with a minute remaining, but it didn't stop the Curry celebration.

This was the Colonels' fifth conference championship, and first since the 2010-2011 season.

Shane Soderwall was named the Most Outstanding Player in the CNE playoffs. He stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced.

Eelis Laaksonen played in his 110th career game, passing Brian Doherty '05 and Ryan Barlock '12 for the most career games played. The game also marked Laaksonen's 100th consecutive game, dating back to early in his freshman year.

Up Next - The Colonels will find out what their future holds on Monday, when the NCAA Tournament Bracket is released. Currently ranked #1 in NPI, the Colonels are in line for the #1 overall seed in the tournament, and a first round bye. The next game for the Colonels will likely be a home game on Saturday, March 22nd at 7pm.