CHARLESTOWN, Mass. – Suffolk men's hockey could not complete the comeback as Salve Regina took down the Rams, 3-2, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action Saturday night in a frigid cold Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2, Salve Regina 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-4-0, 0-4-0 CCC) | Salve Regina (4-1-0, 3-1-0 CCC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Thanks to Jack Billings fourth goal of the season Salve Regina grabbed a one-goal lead 5:27 into the first frame. From there, both teams were held to minimal attempts and the 1-0 Seahawks game stood at the end of the first period.
Suffolk equalized the playing field with 6:47 removed from the second stanza as Shayne Bailey set up Joe Vingi to make it a 1-all contest. Salve Regina took advantage of its fifth powerplay of the night to regain a one-goal edge late in the second period. With Bailey in the box for slashing, the Seahawks stormed out determined to regain their advantage. With help from the Rams' defense Ribas kept Salve quiet, but not for long as Pat Thompson picked up Vincenzo Renda's saved shot and put it away to turn the tides in the Seahawks favor, 2-1, at the 16:30 minute mark.
Salve Regina stretched its cushion to two goals thanks to Shaun Patry's first goal of the year 4:04 into the third frame. Suffolk kept things interesting with Brian Brooks snipping a strike at the midway point of the third to trim the deficit to one again.
The Rams continued to look for the comeback, but where held off as Brendan Heinze was whistled for hooking with 3:53 remaining. Suffolk successfully killed the penalty and looked to pull Ribas, with 1:06 on the clock, but the Seahawks kept the puck in the Rams zone.
The blue-and-gold' eventually seized the opportunity to gain the extra skater and played 6-on-5 for the final 27 seconds, but only got one shot attempt off that was stopped by Blake Wojtala, which secured the 3-2 win for the Seahawks.
GOALS
- From inside the left faceoff circle, Nick Cyr feed Billings right in front of Suffolk's net with the sophomore forward chipping in the puck in the upper right of the netting to give visitors a 1-0 lead.
- Vingi fired from the left faceoff circle and the connected into the back of the netting 6:47 into the second period to tie the game at 1-1.
- Renda sent an attempt to Ribas from the left side. The sophomore goalie made the save, sending it off to the right, but Thompson was there and easily connected on his first goal of the season.
- Thanks to good puck movement and a great setup by Cyr, Patry rifled one past Ribas to give the Seahawks a 3-1 lead early in the third period.
- Thanks to the help from junior twin brothers Sean Henry and Connor Henry, Brooks clipped one past Wojtala top shelf to put the Rams within one once again with 10:01 remaining in the third.
KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS
- Ribas ended the night with 32 saves, but suffered his second setback of the season.
- Wojtala made 27 saves to improve to 4-1-0 on the year.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Salve Regina owned the edge in shots, 35-29, while Suffolk owned the advantage inside the faceoff circle, 42-38.
NOTEWORTHY
- Four of Suffolk's point earners on the night recorded their first points of the season in Bailey (1a), Brooks (1g), Sean Henry (1a) and Vingi (1g).
- Ribas 32-save effort marked a career best for the sophomore.
POST-GAME PIC
WHAT'S TO COME
Suffolk will return to Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink Nov. 16 for a Thursday tilt versus Western New England. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.