Endicott Wins First Conference Matchup, 6-2

Oct. 30, 2003

It wasn't pretty, but it was convincing. On Friday, Oct. 24, the Endicott College hockey team ventured to the wilds of the Northeast Kingdom in upstate Vermont and came away with a scrappy 6-2 win over the Hornets of Lyndon State College, raising their season record to 2-1.

In a match that featured a total of 48 minutes in penalties, the Gulls struck early and often, scoring three times in the first eight minutes against highly regarded Hornet goaltender Jared Rogers. Freshman Mike Spellman lit the lamp less than two minutes into the game, followed by goals from Jason Fall and Casey Marini. Lyndon State's Ben Caswell cut Endicott's lead to 3-1, finishing off a nifty two-on-one break despite the backchecking efforts of Mike Tonucci.

In the second period, sophomore goalie Jeff Pardue barred the door on the Endicott net, making several sparkling saves in front of a boisterous Lyndon State crowd, despite several Hornet power plays. With a minute left, EC defenseman Jeff Clattenberg skated in from his point position, took a nice feed from the left corner by Mark Vaughan, and scorched a bullet into the Hornets' net for a 4-1 Gull margin.

The chippy play that characterized the second period spilled into the third, with each team being whistled for five penalties. The Gulls stayed focused, however, matching the Hornets hit-for-hit, highlighted by a picture perfect hip check delivered by Josh Gilbert that sent a Hornets forward cartwheeling to the ice. At 6:05, EC's Joe Dudek squeezed the puck past Rogers for a 5-1 lead. After Lyndon State's Mike Schoon wristed a shot past a screened Pardue, EC's Ryan Foley pushed the margin back to four with the game's final tally at the 8:22 mark.

Marini, Clattenberg, Dudek, Vaughan, and Captain Adam Partelitis each finished with two points, while defenseman Aaron Sutcliffe also earned high marks for his high-energy, physical play.