MILTON, Mass.- In an ECAC Northeast conference match-up in men's ice hockey action on Thursday evening at the Max Ulin Rink, Curry College defeated Salve Regina, 5-2. With the win, the Colonels improve to 3-4 overall and even out to 2-2 in the conference. The Seahawks fell to 2-2-1 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
Curry held just a one shot advantage in the first period leading 10-9. The Colonels struggled on the power play going 0-4 but were able to get on the board with 46 seconds remaining. Curry's sophomore Sean Nelson (Brighton, Mich.) won the face-off in the Seahawks defensive end with under a minute to play. Sophomore Jake Heisinger received the puck right outside the crease and one-timed it past Salve's senior goaltender Jake Williams (Montreal, Quebec). Seniors Chris Mason (Monrovia, Calif.) and Jordan Reed (Ajax, Ontario) were credited with the assists. All nine of the Seahawks shots landed on net but solid play between the pipes of sophomore netminder Brett Sinclair (St. Catharines, Ontario) held the Seahawks scoreless.
Salve was dominant in shots in the second frame outshooting Curry 16-8. The second saw eight total penalties, four from each team. The Seahawks took advantage first of the man-up situation to tie the game at 1-1 at the 7:55 minute mark. With only 20 seconds left on the power-play, junior Marc Biggs (Dallas, Texas) got his team on the board after receiving the puck from sophomore Evan Shultz (Durham, N.H.). Shultz took a slap shot that sailed over the shoulder of Sinclair. The tie didn't last long as the Colonels answered back less than two minutes later with their own man-up goal. Curry regained the lead when Reed skated with the puck past a Salve defender and beat Williams's one-one-one for his first tally on the night. Reed was assisted by Heisinger and sophomore Dan McGinnis (Hanover, Mass.). McGinnis netted the game-winning goal at the 17:07 mark and extend the Colonels lead 3-1 before heading into the final period. Williams was called for a misconduct penalty which forced him to leave the game giving way to sophomore Alexander Devine (Hampton, N.H.). Devine's first shot was a rip by McGinnis that sent the puck over his glove and into the back of the net. Sophomores James Murphy (Malden, Mass.) and Joe Scarfo (Winthrop, Mass.) earned the assists.
The Seahawks started the final stanza with a 5-3 man-up advantage. Two Colonel players were called for penalties to end the second which carried over into the third. Salve couldn't benefit from the situation however 1:52 minutes after the penalty releases; they cut the lead back to one and with 16:04 left in regulation the score was 3-2 in favor of Curry. Once again however, the Colonels were solid on the power play. Shultz was called for slashing and 1:03 into the advantage, junior Shane Harrington (Mansfield, Mass.) took a slap shot just over the blueline past Devine. Harrington was assisted by Mason and junior Ryan Gay (Nesconset, N.Y.). Curry sealed the win on another man-up situation late in the game. Reed netted his second on the night and with his one helper, finished with three points. Heisinger was credited with the assist which brought his point total to three also. Junior Brian White (Santa Ana, Calif.) earned the second assist.
Curry went 3-7 on power plays while Salve was 1-7. The Seahawks finished with a game-high 37 shots and the Colonels 27.
Curry's Sinclair earned the win in net making an impressive 35 saves in net. Williams came up with 13 stops while Devine had nine in the loss.
Curry's next game is at home against ECAC Northeast opponent Wentworth on Saturday, November 22 at 4:30 p.m. The game marks the day of the team's Teddy Bear Toss. Salve is next in action on Saturday, November 22 when they host ECAC Northeast opponent Western New England in a 4:30 p.m. game start.
