BOSTON, Mass. -- Freshman Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, Ohio)
stopped 25 of 26 shots as three different players scored goals to
lift sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales to a 3-1 victory over
third-seeded Suffolk in quarterfinal round action of the 2010 ECAC
Northeast Ice Hockey Championships Sunday evening at Steriti
Rink.
The visiting Wildcats, which improve to 11-14-1 overall on the
season, advance to take on top-seeded Wentworth in ECAC Northeast
semi-final round play on Wednesday evening at Matthews Arena in
Boston in a game that faces off at 7:30 p.m.
Senior Kevin Marcheshi (South Portland, Maine) staked Johnson &
Wales to a 1-0 advantage just 54 seconds into the contest by
converting feeds from freshmen Jason Pietrasiak (Shrewsbury, Mass.)
and Max Carter (Royal Oak, Mich.), but the host Rams, who end the
season at 12-11-3 overall, evened matters midway through the
opening stanza on senior Niles Moore's (Columbus,
Ohio) power play goal. Junior Joe Simeone (Cranston, R.I.)
gave the Wildcats the lead for good 7:46 into the middle period on
an assist from freshman Trevor Jewell (Belgrade, Mont.), and
junior Craig Houle (Burrillville, R.I.) provided an insurance tally
for the visitors with 1:05 to play in the second frame with an
unassisted goal in a 4-on-4 situation, as neither team converted in
the closing 20 minutes of action.
Cooper kept Suffolk off the board for the final 50-plus minutes of
play, as he made 10 saves in the final period alone to post the
triumph, while junior Jeff Rose (Collinsville,
Conn.) made 36 saves in the setback for the Rams, including 29 over
the first 40 minutes of action, as Johnson & Wales outshot
Suffolk by a 39-26 margin for the contest in sweeping the three
game season series between the two squads.
Johnson & Wales dropped both of its match-ups with Wentworth
during the regular season, including a 5-3 setback back on February
3rd in Smithfield, R.I. Wednesday's other ECAC Northeast
semi-final will pit second-seeded Curry against fourth-seeded
Becker, who advanced with a 5-4 overtime victory over fifth-seeded
Nichols in Sunday's other quarterfinal round contest.
Johnson & Wales Drops Hockey 3-1
Posted: Feb 28, 2010