Gulls Come Up Short Againts Last Season's Champs, 8-5

Nov. 8, 2003

In a penalty-marred affair, Endicott lost an 8-5 decision at home to league powerhouse Bryant College on Saturday, Nov. 8, dropping the Gulls to the .500 mark, at 3-3-2. Bryant, showing the same balanced attack that carried them to last year's NECHA championship, got goals from eight different players to dominate the Gulls.

For the second night in a row, Endicott's opponents lit the lamp only a minute into the game, with Bryant's John Dougherty ripping a high-slot shot that glanced off Gull goalie Jeff Pardue's shoulder and into the net. The goal came on a Bryant power play, with Endicott's Aaron Sutcliffe serving two minutes for slashing, the first of 11 penalties called against the Gulls. Bryant didn't fair much better with the referees, as the Bulldogs were whistled for 10 penalties.

The Gulls responded to Bryant's early goal with a pair of their own. Freshman forward Mike Tonucci knotted the game at the 3:10 mark, and Mark Vaughan put the Gulls up, 2-1, less than three minutes later. Bryant tied the game with another power play goal, this one by Brian Gray, while Jeff Clattenburg was serving Endicott's fifth minor penalty of the opening period.

The stalemate continued through the first eight minutes of the second period. But with Endicott's Scott Vaughn in the penalty box for highsticking, Bryant's Kristoffer Robin slapped a wide-angle screen shot over Pardue's glove to give the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead. The backbreaker came with only 24 seconds left in the period, when Bryant's Brian Gray slipped the puck past Pardue, sending the Gulls into the intermission down 4-2.

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to 5-2 only two minutes into the final stanza, with Justin Delauri scoring for Bryant. Endicott got one back at the 6-minute mark, when Derek Gagnon's unassisted goal cut the lead to 5-3. The Bulldogs pulled away 30 seconds later, with Erik Brouillard tallying the eventual game-winner at the 6:33 mark. Endicott's Casey Marini's tally at 8:10 was countered by two quick Bryant strikes, from Ed Brady and Todd Hodgdon, as the Bulldogs built up a four-goal cushion at 8-4. Endicott's Kenny Dargin, exemplifying the team's "never quit" attitude, scored in the final minute, but 8-5 would be as close as the Gulls would get.

The Gulls are back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 12, with a non-league match against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, followed by weekend games at Springfield College on Friday, Nov. 14, and home against the Boston Junior Blackhawks on Saturday.

FINIS