Late Heroics Push No. 12 Women’s Ice Hockey Past Golden Bears (OT), 4-3

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Samantha Fantasia (Billerica, Mass.) sniped home a wrist-shot 11 seconds into overtime to propel the No. 12 nationally ranked Endicott women's ice hockey past Western New England (WNE), 4-3, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) showdown at the Olympia Ice Center on Friday night.

With 28 seconds to go in regulation, Maggie Holt (Cumberland Foreside, Maine) buried a shot from just inside the blue line to knot the contest at 3-3.

In the final stanza, WNE found the back of the net twice (PP 7:28, 9:50) to eventually take a 3-2 lead.

In the second frame, Mackenzie Graham (Billerica, Mass.) answered with a snipe of her own (4:18) to deadlock the game at 1-1 with 16:23 to play.

35 seconds later, Quin Healy (Melrose, Mass.) redirected a shot in the net from Payton Hansen (Spring City, Pa.) to capture a 2-1 edge.

The Golden Bears opened the contest with an early 1-0 advantage via a goal at the 12:36 mark. 

In goal, Casey Moritz (Trophy Club, Texas) stopped 20 shots to improve to 13-4-2 this season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls are 8-2-1 on the road.
• Endicott leads the all-time series, 8-2-0 (first-ever OT win).
• Emmerson Hayes (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Gulls on the face-off dot going 15-for-20.
• Endicott is 5-3-1 when the opponent scores first.
• Fantasia recorded her seventh multi-point game this season.
• She also potted her 10th career game-winner (third all-time in program history).
• The Blue and Green extended their winning streak to seven straight games.
• Holt netted her first career goal as a Gull.

WHAT'S NEXT

No. 12 Endicott (15-4-2, 12-2–0 CCC) welcomes the University of New England (UNE) to Raymond J. Bourque Arena on Friday, February 9 at 7:00 PM. WNE (12-6-2, 8-5-1 CCC) visits the Ocean State to take on Salve Regina tomorrow at 7:00 PM.

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - David Le '10)