Boston, MA -- Junior Bill Gilbert (Forestdale, MA) made 54 saves to lead the Rams to a 3-2 victory over the UMass-Boston Beacons in Tuesday's Cod Fish Bowl consolation game.
The Rams jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first 90 seconds of play when senior Dan Pencinger (Randolph, NJ) scored his first goal of the season on a power-play. The Beacons answered later in the first when David Lun (Grand Rapids, MI) beat Gilbert with a wrist shot to even up the score.
Senior defenseman Mitch Sabo put the Rams up 2-1 in the second when he blasted a slap shot from the blue line by Beacons' goaltender Ryan Donovan (Rexford, NY). It was the Rams' second power play goal of the game. The Rams pushed the score to 3-1 just a minute later when junior Brian Smusz (Daleville, VA) flipped in a backhander for what would turn out to be the game winner.
With 10:28 remaining in the second period, Umass-Boston forward Matt Astoff (Macomb, MI) scored his fifth goal of the season on a Beacons' power play to cut the Rams lead to 3-2. The Beacons had plenty of scoring opportunities late in the second and third periods, including a 5 on 3 power play, but the penalty killing unit for Suffolk really stepped up. The Rams were shorthanded for nearly seven minutes from the end of the second period into the beginning of the third, but Gilbert and Suffolk's penalty killers managed to fend off the Beacon attack and preserve the victory.
Gilbert stopped all twenty shots he faced in the third period to earn his first victory of the season in net. Dan Pencinger finished the game with a goal and an assist, and John Rocchio (East Greenwich, RI) also chipped in with two helpers for the Rams third win on the season.
The win moves Suffolk's season record to 3-8, while UMass-Boston goes to 5-3-2 on the season. It was also Suffolk's first win in Cod Fish Bowl Tournament history, in the three years they have been participating in the event.
Suffolk does not play again until 2009, when they travel to the University of Southern Maine (Gorham, ME) on January 13th. Game time is at 7:00 pm.