Hockey Captures First ECAC Northeast Championship Since 2005
March 6, 2010
MILTON, Mass.- Curry College scored five second-period goals then held off Johnson & Wales, winning 5-4 and capturing the 2010 ECAC Northeast Tournament Championship. The Colonels (19-8-1) earned their first conference title since 2005 and will represent the ECAC Northeast in next week’s NCAA Division III Championship. The Wildcats finished their season at 12-15-1.
Johnson & Wales shot out to a quick 2-0 lead, collecting goals from freshman forward Ryan Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, FL) and sophomore defenseman Domenic Recchia (Sterling Heights, MI) within the game’s first three minutes and retained a two-goal lead through the opening frame.
The second period was completely dominated by the home team. Curry quickly pulled even on goals by junior defenseman Ryan Warsofsky (Marshfield, MA) at 00:49 and senior forward Ross Enmark (Shelby Township, MI) at 1:04. Just over one minute later, the Wildcats took their last lead of the game as junior forward Craig Houle (Burrillville, RI) found the back of the net to make the score 3-2. The Colonels’ onslaught continued with three more goals over the next six minutes, provided by sophomores John Williams (Flourtown, PA), Ryan Barlock (Niles, IL) and Payden Benning (Estevan, SK).The hosts out-shot Johnson & Wales 33-7 in the middle frame, and took a 5-3 advantage into the second intermission.
The only scoring in the third period came on a power-play goal by freshman defenseman Trevor Jewell (Belgrade, MT) at 8:45 that pulled the visitors back to within one at 5-4. Despite outshooting Curry 15-7 in the final frame, the second-seeded Colonels blanked the sixth-seeded Wildcats over the game’s final eight minutes to preserve the win.
Benning, with a goal and two assists, was named as the championship game’s Most Outstanding Player.
Curry freshman Robert Dawson (Woodbury, MI) started the game in net, allowed two goals, and made three saves before giving way to senior Steven Jakiel (Santa Clarita, CA) three minutes into the contest. Jakiel earned the win for the Colonels making 30 saves. Freshman Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, OH) made 52 saves for Johnson & Wales in taking the loss.
Curry now awaits the announcement of NCAA Tournament pairings on Monday March 8.
Box Score
Johnson & Wales shot out to a quick 2-0 lead, collecting goals from freshman forward Ryan Kelly (Fort Lauderdale, FL) and sophomore defenseman Domenic Recchia (Sterling Heights, MI) within the game’s first three minutes and retained a two-goal lead through the opening frame.
The second period was completely dominated by the home team. Curry quickly pulled even on goals by junior defenseman Ryan Warsofsky (Marshfield, MA) at 00:49 and senior forward Ross Enmark (Shelby Township, MI) at 1:04. Just over one minute later, the Wildcats took their last lead of the game as junior forward Craig Houle (Burrillville, RI) found the back of the net to make the score 3-2. The Colonels’ onslaught continued with three more goals over the next six minutes, provided by sophomores John Williams (Flourtown, PA), Ryan Barlock (Niles, IL) and Payden Benning (Estevan, SK).The hosts out-shot Johnson & Wales 33-7 in the middle frame, and took a 5-3 advantage into the second intermission.
The only scoring in the third period came on a power-play goal by freshman defenseman Trevor Jewell (Belgrade, MT) at 8:45 that pulled the visitors back to within one at 5-4. Despite outshooting Curry 15-7 in the final frame, the second-seeded Colonels blanked the sixth-seeded Wildcats over the game’s final eight minutes to preserve the win.
Benning, with a goal and two assists, was named as the championship game’s Most Outstanding Player.
Curry freshman Robert Dawson (Woodbury, MI) started the game in net, allowed two goals, and made three saves before giving way to senior Steven Jakiel (Santa Clarita, CA) three minutes into the contest. Jakiel earned the win for the Colonels making 30 saves. Freshman Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, OH) made 52 saves for Johnson & Wales in taking the loss.
Curry now awaits the announcement of NCAA Tournament pairings on Monday March 8.
Box Score