BEVERLY, Mass. – Seniors Tommy Besinger (Milton, Mass.) and Daniel Kucerovy (Bethel Park, Pa.) combined for four goals and nine assists to help the Endicott College ice hockey team skate past Wentworth Institute of Technology, 8-4, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday night.
With the win the Gulls improve to 15-7-2 overall and 9-7-0 in CCC play while the Leopards fall to 8-12-4 (6-9-1). In the three games played between the two teams this season, there have been a total of 32 goals scored with 23 of those coming in this weekend's series.
Endicott jumped on the board 30 seconds into the game on a goal from junior Jason Kalinowski (Stamford, Conn.). Sixty-one seconds later, senior Josh Bowes (Edmonton, Alta.) made it a 2-0 game, where it stayed until sophomore Nick Nonis (Hampton Falls, N.H.) made it 3-0. Besinger and Kucerovy picked up assists on all three goals.
Wentworth got on the board at the 17:34 mark of the period when junior Adam Tracey (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) scored on the power play from junior Connor Busch (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) and senior Ethan Weiss (Troy, Mich.) to make it 3-1. Kucerovy scored at 18:57 and 19:51 – with Besinger assisting on both – to give the Gulls a 5-1 cushion. However, with 0.5 seconds left in the period, senior Jonny Spada (Glen Rock, N.J.) scored from sophomore Jake Hallisey (Quincy, Mass.) to cut the lead to 5-2.
Just 26 seconds into the second period, junior Nate Chase (Plainfield, Ill.) scored from classmates Georgy Gorodetsky (Yekaterinburg, Russia) and Adam Tracey (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) making it a two-goal game. The score held until the 18:19 mark of the period when Gorodetsky brought the Black & Gold within a goal when he tallied his team-leading 16th goal of the season. The goal was also Gorodetsky's 30th point of the season, making him the first Leopard skater to record 30 or more points a season since the 2011-12 campaign.
Endicott put the game away with a three-goal third period. A minute into the period, Besinger scored on the power play with Kucerovy making it 7-4 at 9:34. Junior Luke Rodgers (Clarkston, Mich.) completed the scoring with a goal with 5:58 left in the game.
Freshman Conor O'Brien (Pinellas Park, Fla.) made 23 saves in the win while freshman Thomas Draper (Binghamton, N.Y.) took the loss, making 40 saves. Endicott had a 48-27 shot advantage.
Wentworth concludes the regular season next Saturday with a home game against Nichols.
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