NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – An offensive onslaught saw the Suffolk men's hockey team dominate from start to finish in a 9-5 pounding of UMass Dartmouth Thursday night at Hetland Arena.
Dartmouth (5-7-3) broke into the scoring at even strength, netting the game's first goal at 2:01 in the opening stanza. Justin Selep cut into the lead 4:38 later, taking advantage of the Rams' second power-play opportunity of the night.
Garrett Allen put another one away for the Corsairs at 13:01, before Stanton Turner got in on the scoring at the 14:25 mark of the first, putting it home from Shayne Bailey and Shaughn Shields.
Heading into the second stanza things were deadlocked at 2-all. Just 26 seconds in, Dartmouth broke the tie as Casey Shea found the back of the netting thanks to feeds from Mike Kelly and Mike Sones. That would be the last lead for the Corsairs, however, as Turner and Shields set up Luke Miller's first goal of the night just eight second after Shea's knotted the game at 3-3 and the Rams never looked back.
Suffolk took advantage of Kyle Zacharewicz's five-minute penalty as Connor Lawrence and Miller each scored on the power-play. Lawrence's first goal of the year was assisted by Selep and Turner, while Miller used help from Turner and Tyler Heineman.
The Rams' second line continued to gel in the tail end of the second period as Turner potted his second of the night thanks to a set-up by Miller and Heineman to put Suffolk out in front, 6-4.
Dartmouth's Mike Restuccia slid the puck past the goal like to open the scoring in the third, but the Rams did not let up as Selep, Anthony Galloway and Connor Henry each tacked on a goal of their own for the final 9-5 outcome.
Turner finished the game with five points on two goals and three assists, while Miller and Selep each had two scores and one handout. Danyil Medvedev, Heineman and Shields each had two helpers to their credit and Galloway, Henry and Lawrence all recorded a goal in the win. Tommy Bishop, Bailey and Dominic Rovero rounded out the skaters with points, who helped Suffolk score the most goals by a team in a single game since the Rams scored 11 in an 11-4 victory over Franklin Pierce December 4, 2002. The nine goals also mark the most by a squad in the Chris Glionna era and the most goals scored on the road according to Suffolk's record books, which date back to the 1999-2000 season.
Michael Levine needed just 18 saves to pick up his first collegiate win and help Suffolk improve to 10-4-2 overall.
Suffolk closes its five-game road swing Saturday night as it returns to ECAC Northeast action at Salve Regina. The Rams and Seahawks are scheduled for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.