EAST BOSTON – Michael McEachern scored the lone goal of the night and CJ Hapward denied 22 shots to send Suffolk men's hockey past Johnson & Wales, 1-0, in Conference of New England (CNE) action Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Johnson & Wales 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (5-4-2, 2-4-1 CNE) | Johnson & Wales (4-5-1, 2-4-1 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk grabbed a 1-0 edge at the 14:12 mark of the first period. McEachern put away a rebound in transition to give the Rams the go-ahead. Off a face-off in the neutral zone, Thomas Dempsey used the boards to pass ahead to his co-captain Ryan Webb. Webb's initial attempt was denied by Jake Inzirillo, but McEachern picked up the rebound and tucked it away for the one-goal lead for the blue-and-gold.  

That would be the only goal the Rams would need as Hapward did his job in between the post, stopping all 22 of the Wildcats attempts including four in the final two minutes to not only preserve the victory, but the cleansheet. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Hapward had 22 stops in the win. 
• Inzirillo logged 36 saves in the setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• McEachern was responsible for Suffolk's lone goal. 
• Webb and Dempsey handed out one assist apiece. 
• Suffolk outshot JWU, 37-22. 
• The Rams skated off one penalty and were unable to take advantage of their four power plays. 
• The blue-and-gold won the face-off battle, 38-28.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Johnson & Wales renewed a rivalry, as they met for the first time since Jan. 25, 2020. 
• The win was the Rams first over the Wildcats since Jan. 24, 2020, a 6-2 triumph. 
• Suffolk moved to 9-23-3 all-time versus JWU. 
• At home, the blue-and-gold is now 4-12-2 against the Wildcats. 
• The game between Suffolk and JWU ended in a shutout for the first time since Feb. 28, 2015, a 5-0 setback for the blue-and-gold. 
• The Rams kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the first time in the year-by-year record book, which dates through 2001. 
• Including tonight's decision, there has been four cleansheets in the all-time series with JWU dating back to 2001. Suffolk is now 1-3-0 in such decisions. 
• McEachern scored his first goal as a Ram. 
• Webb has produced a point in back-to-back games. In that span he has two goals and one assist. 
• Dempsey has dished out an assist in back-to-back contests. 
• Hapward had his second shutout of the season, third of his Suffolk career.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk wraps up the home-and-home series with the Wildcats in the fall semester finale tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Lynch Arena in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.