BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Brandon Smolarek (Chesterfield, Mo.) made 30 saves to record his first career shutout as the Suffolk University hockey team earned its first conference playoff berth in four years with a 4-0 ECAC Northeast ice hockey victory over Wentworth Saturday afternoon at Steriti Rink.
With the win, the host Rams (9-14-1, 6-7-1 ECAC Northeast) clinch the fifth seed in the upcoming league championships, which begin with first round play next Saturday. Suffolk will travel to fourth-seeded Johnson & Wales for that outing next weekend, as the Wildcats can finish no higher in the league standings despite having two regular season games remaining. The visiting Leopards (11-12-2, 9-5 ECAC Northeast) will be seeded either second or third in this year's tournament, as Wentworth must wait for the result of tomorrow's Johnson & Wales-Salve Regina contest to learn its seed. A Johnson & Wales win gives the Leopards the number two seed and a first-round bye, while a Salve Regina win or tie moves the Black & Gold to third.
After a scoreless opening period, senior Charlie McGinnis (Hanover, Mass.) gave the Rams the only goal they would need on a delayed penalty call 1:11 into the second stanza on a feed from freshman Stanton Turner (San Francisco, Calif.), and junior Andrew Ball (Brick, N.J.) extended that margin to 2-0 nearly eight minutes into the final frame with his second career tally that came on the power play. Empty-netters off the sticks of sophomores Carmen Mastrangelo (Wellington, Fla.) and Mike Cherpak (Enfield, Conn.) in a 46 second span late in the contest accounted for the final score.
McGinnis finished with a goal and an assist in the triumph for Suffolk, which also received a pair of assists for Turner as well as single helpers off the sticks of junior Tim Benedetto (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore Connor McCarthy (Hanover, Mass.). Smolarek took care of the rest in net for the Rams, as he made nine saves in the opening period, 10 in the second and 11 more in the final 20 minutes of play to post the shutout and snap the Leopards' seven-game win streak in the series that dated back to February 11, 2010. Sophomore Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) made 16 stops in suffering the setback in goal for Wentworth, which outshot Suffolk by a 30-20 margin for the contest.
(Portions of this recap courtesy of Suffolk Sports Information)
June 23, 2014
Tolan Steps Down as Head Ice Hockey Coach
June 4, 2014
Hockey Teams Up With St. Baldrick's Foundation
March 14, 2014
ECAC Northeast All-Academic Team Announced
March 8, 2014
Hockey Falls to Nichols in ECACNE Title Game
March 1, 2014
Tolan, McCracken, Burgau Earn ECAC Northeast Accolades
February 27, 2014
ECAC Northeast Tournament Pairings Set
February 22, 2014
Hockey Falls in Regular-Season Finale
February 20, 2014
Hockey Holds on for Second Straight Win
February 15, 2014
Three-Goal Second Period Pushes Hockey Past Becker
February 11, 2014
Hockey Sees Win Streak Come to an End
February 10, 2014
Peck Repeats as ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Week
January 29, 2014
Hockey Holds on For Second Straight Win
January 25, 2014
Burgau's Overtime Marker Lifts Hockey to 4-3 Win
January 18, 2014
Hockey Draws With Assumption
January 9, 2014
Hockey Suffers 5-1 Setback at Plymouth State
January 3, 2014
Hockey Falls to Salem State
January 2, 2014
Hockey Falls to Colby in Tournament Opener
December 13, 2013
Hockey Closes Out 2013 With Loss at UMass Boston
December 10, 2013
Szerlip Nets Pair in Hockey's Win Over Stonehill
December 1, 2013
Late Goal Lifts Trinity Past Hockey
November 30, 2013
Hockey Ties Wesleyan, 2-2
November 25, 2013
Peck Named ECAC Northeast Goaltender of the Week
November 23, 2013
Hockey Shuts Out Curry to Snap Losing Streak
November 21, 2013
Hockey Doubled up by Western New England
November 16, 2013
Hockey Rally Falls Short in Loss to Nichols
November 12, 2013
Hockey Edges Salve Regina, 2-1
November 9, 2013
Hockey Tripped up in League Opener
November 6, 2013
Salem State Works Overtime in 2-1 Victory over Hockey
November 2, 2013
Third Period Flurry Lifts Hockey to 5-1 Win
November 1, 2013
Hockey Falls in Season Opener
November 1, 2013
Hockey Picked to Repeat in ECAC Northeast Poll