Hockey Looks to Bounce Back vs. Becker Saturday

BOSTON – The Suffolk hockey team looks to bounce back and return to the win column Saturday night when the Rams welcome Becker to Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink for a 7 p.m. game.   

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LAST TIME OUT
Suffolk hockey could not overcome a 3-0 first period deficit set by Johnson & Wales as the Wildcats went on to take down the Rams, 4-1, in ECAC Northeast action Thursday night.   

MORE READING: Hockey Falls at JWU, 4-1

RUN DOWN ON THE RAMS

• Suffolk has dropped three straight, being outscored in those contests, 13-4. Now 12-8-2 on the year and 7-5-2 in ECAC Northeast, which is good for third place.
• Justin Selep, who ranks in the top-20 national in goals (0.68 - 17) and short-handed goals (0.09 – T5) per game, leads the team in points (26) and goals (15), which rank second in the league, respectively. His four game-winners tie seventh other skaters across the country for the fourth most nationally.  
• Danyil Medvedev is second on the team and seventh in the conference with 20 points on the third-most helpers among ECAC Northeast skaters with 13.  
• Overall, 26 different Rams have recorded a point this season, with 23 tallying multiple points and seven notching double figure points. As a team, Suffolk produces the third highest offense in the league with 3.41 goals per game.  
• The Rams have called upon each goalie of their three-headed netminder machine this season.  Brandon Smolarek has been Suffolk's go-to in 19 contests with the senior producing 506 saves (.900) and allowing just 56 pucks past him (3.14 GAA). Kevin Venturoso has 84 saves to his credit, while Michael Levine has stopped 43 pucks.  

FLYING WITH THE HAWKS                                         

• Becker comes into Saturday's game with an 8-13-1 mark, going 4-8-1 in ECAC Northeast play. The Hawks are 0-2 through the last two contests, most recently falling at Endicott, 6-1.
• In its high-octane offense, Becker has 20 skaters with at least one point and eight with double-figure points through 22 games led by Conner Allison's 18 (9-9-18). Gerald Owen (5-12-17) and Corey Sherman (6-11-17) round out the top three scoring threats for Becker.
• Becker relies on a potent three-headed goaltending tandem in net. Tyler Stepke does the heavy lifting for the Hawks, with 17 starts under his belt this season (6-10-1). Stepke has 624 saves and has let by 54 goals. Behind him sits, Gregg Hussey, who has five appearances, and Bryan Canter, who has seen the ice four times.

WE MEET AGAIN
Freshman Justin Holliday's goal 2:14 into overtime capped a furious comeback and lifted Suffolk to a 4-3 ECAC Northeast ice hockey victory over Becker December 4 at Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink.   

MORE READING: Hockey Rallies Late, Defeats Becker 4-3 in Overtime

RIGHT ON, ROOKIES
The freshman class has made a significant impact for Suffolk this season. Rookie forward Justin Holliday's 14 points off seven goals and seven assists, sit third on the team. Tommy Bishop's 12 points (4-8-12) ranks fifth on the team, while his forward counterparts of Nick Mosher (4-6-10) and Connor Parent (6-2-8) round out the Rams' top 10 point earners. Brendan Heinze has scored three goals and handed out two helpers and Mikhail Bryan has three assists and one goal to his credit. Connor Henry (1-0-1), Sean Henry (0-2-2) and Dominic Rovero (0-1-1) round out the rookies with points.

As a whole, the Class of 2019 accounts for 30.9 percent of the Rams' offense with 26 goals and 30 assists. 

SHOW STOPPER
Brandon Smolarek has stood tall for Suffolk between the pipes and is a major reason why the Rams are 12-8-2 this season. The senior netminder has turned away 506 attempts, the sixth most among ECAC Northeast goalies. Smoalrek boasts a 3.14 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.

Smolarek brought his career total to 2,005 saves Saturday, a milestone that was reached by just one other Ram since 1999-00, Jeff Rose '11 who owns Suffolk's all-time saves record with 2,799.

The Chesterfield, Michigan native steered away 46 shots against Salve Regina November 4, the most by a Suffolk keeper since junior Kevin Venturoso stopped 52 attempts against Tufts January 8, 2014. 

A HEAPIN' HELPIN' OF HELPERS
The Rams have done well to spread the puck around with 14 scorers registering multiple goals, led by Justin Selep's 15 and Danyil Medvedev's and Justin Holliday's seven. On 75 total goals this season, Suffolk has racked up 111 assists, led by Medvedev's 13 and 11 from Tyler Heineman and Selep, respectively.  

GAME-WINNING GANG
Six of Suffolk's 12 game-winning goals this season have been scored by upperclassmen with the remaining three coming off the sticks of first-years. Junior Justin Selep leads the way with four, while freshman Justin Holliday has three. Junior Stanton Turner ach put in two with senior Zack Capozza, sophomore Luke Miller and freshman Nick Mosher each have game-winning scores to their credit.

NINE SCORES AND 14 YEARS AGO
For the first time in 14 years, Suffolk scored nine goals en route to a 9-5 trouncing of UMass Dartmouth January 21. Six skaters in blue-and-gold combined for the most scores by the Rams since December 4, 2002 in an 11-4 victory over Franklin Pierce. Twelve different players recorded a point to put in the most goals in the Chris Glionna era and the most tallies on the road in Suffolk history, according to the record books, which date back to the 1999-2000 season.

UP NEXT
Suffolk wraps up the regular season Wednesday, Feb. 17 versus Nichols at 7:40 p.m.