Milton, MA - On Saturday the Curry Men's Hockey team will look to win their first conference championship since winning the ECAC Championship in 2010-11. They will be taking on the CNE #3 seed Endicott, who are ranked #12 in the country. The Colonels beat Suffolk 4-2 last Saturday in the CNE semifinals to make the championship game, while the Gulls have had to beat Wentworth and UNE in the playoffs, defeating both teams in overtime. The Colonels are 23-3-0 on the season, while the Gulls are 19-7-1. The Colonels have won 15 straight games, while Endicott is on a four game winning streak.

The Gulls have been no stranger to overtime games, as they have played 11 of them on the season, going 7-3-1. Meanwhile the Colonels' lone overtime game was a 3-2 loss to the Gulls early in the season. In that game, the Colonels had a late go ahead goal in regulation wiped off the board.

Curry, who is currently ranked #1 in NPI, #2 in the DIIIHockeyNews poll, and #3 in the USCHO poll would all but clinch a first round bye in the NCAA tournament with a win. On the season the Colonels are 6-3 against teams currently in the to 15 in NPI, which determines the NCAA Tournament seeding.

Earlier in the week the a multitude of Colonels were recognized by the CNE for their performances on the season. Coach Peter Roundy was named the CNE Coach of the Year for the second straight season. He has led the Colonels to a 23-3-0 record this season, and the team has reached new program highs in every poll and ranking. He becomes the first coach in program history to win the conference coach of the year award multiple times.

Shane Soderwall was named the Goalie and the Player of the Year, as he has been the best goalie in the country all season. Joining Soderwall on the CNE First Team was Ryan Prewitt, Casper Soderling, and Eelis Laaksonen. Laaksonen was also named the CNE Scholar Athlete of the Year. Gage Dill rounded out the all-conference recognitions with a third team honor.

Although the Colonels will look to lean on their star players, ironically none of the players recognized by the CNE have scored a goal in the three games this season against the Gulls. The Colonels are 2-1-0 on the season against the Gulls, with the loss coming in overtime. In those three games, it has been other players who have made the difference. One in particular has been Manny Cabral. He has scored a goal in all three games against Endicott this season.

With his first shift of the game, Eelis Laaksonen will pass Brian Doherty '05 and Ryan Barlock '12 for most games played in program history, playing in his 110^th career game. The game will also mark the 100^th consecutive game that he has played in, only missing the 11^th game of his freshman season. Laaksonen is also on the hunt for his 100^th career point, as he sits at 97 career points. With three more points he would become just the 25^th member of the 100 point club in program history.

The Gulls are led by a pair of CNE First Teamers in Andrew Kurapov and AJ Martinelli, both graduate students. Kurapov was second on the team with 14 goals, and 28 points. He is the first player in Endicott hockey's program history to be named to three consecutive first team all-conference honors. Martinelli meanwhile leads the Gulls defensive unit. In net for the Gulls is Atticus Kelly, who boasts a 1.99 GAA and .929 save percentage, which are good for 16^th and 20^th in the country.

All-time the Colonels are 9-17-1 against Endicott, and 5-7-1 at home. Both playoff matches between the teams have taken place at Endicott, with the Gulls winning both in 2022 and 2023.

The two teams will faceoff for the CNE Championship on Saturday at 3pm.

Livestream - https://www.nsnsports.net/conferences/cne/

Live Stats - https://www.curryathletics.com/sports/mice/2024-25/boxscores/20250308_nzce.xml