Gulls Tame Bulldogs, 5-2

Nov. 18, 2007

HAMILTON, MA - The Endicott College ice hockey team avenged an early season 7-2 loss to Bryant University by downing the Bulldogs, 5-2, on Saturday at the Johnson Rink in Hamilton, Massachusetts.

Bryant, who entered Saturday's showdown as the fourth-ranked team in the Northeast Region of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, broke the ice with 2:17 remaining in the opening period as Timothy White (Rochdale, MA/Worcester Academy) found the back of the net off a feed from Dexter Carnot (Meriden, CT/Xavier) for his third goal of the year to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.

That would be all the scoring in the first frame as Endicott's Josh Provost (West Rutland, VT/Mount St. Joseph) and Bryant's Nick Eldridge (Marlboro, MA/Hudson Catholic) each stood strong in their respective nets.

The visiting Bulldogs doubled their advantage midway through the second period as Philip Moore (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendowah) slipped a shot past Provost for his fourth goal of the season. Robert Jones (Billerica, MA/Billerica) and Paul Todesca (Westwood, MA/Catholic Memorial) were each credited with an assist.

Finding themselves in a seemingly inescapable two goal hole, the Gulls battled their way back within one as senior forward Bryan Caccamo (Milton, MA/Milton Academy) capitalized on the power-play as he corralled a nifty feed from defenseman Mike Vacca (North Reading, MA/North Reading) and ripped a shot past Nick Eldrige to make the score 2-1.

With just 3:29 left in the second, Endicott was able to pull back to even as senior assistant captain Brian Sullivan (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) buried the puck in the Bryant net to knot the game at 2-2. The Gulls' Chris Garofalo (Peabody, MA/Bishop Fenwick) earned the assist on Sullivan's first of the season.

In the third, Endicott completed the comeback as Matt Guidotti (Lebanon, NH/James O'Neil) notched his second of the year on assists from Patrick Kennedy (Weymouth, MA/Weymouth) and Mike Vacca with just 3:29 left in regulation to give the Blue and Green their first lead of the night, 3-2.

Desperate to re-tie the contest, Bryant pulled goaltender Nick Eldridge in favor of the extra attacker; however the Gulls made Bryant pay by securing the victory with a pair of empty net goals just seven-seconds apart. Brian Sullivan scored his second goal of the night with 1:08 remaining and Brett Erickson (Leominster, MA/St. Bernards) sealed the deal with just :61 seconds left to give Endicott the 5-2 victory.

Endicott's Josh Provost was exceptional between the pipes as the senior netminder made 30 saves in the win. Bryant's Nick Eldridge suffered the loss as he was peppered to the tune of 42 shots for 37 saves.

With the win, Endicott improves to 4-7-1 overall and 2-2 in the NECHA. The Gulls will retake the ice following a brief Thanksgiving holiday break, as the Blue and Green will travel to Bridgewater, Mass. to face-off with Bridgewater State College at 8:00 p.m. on November 28th.