Gulls hold off Seahawks in fourth

BEVERLY, Mass. – Back-to-back goals midway through the fourth quarter from Endicott senior Colin Bannon (Westport, Conn.) proved to be the difference for the Gulls in their 10-9 league victory over Salve Regina University on Tuesday night at Hempstead Stadium.

Leading 8-7 with 13:32 left to play in the contest, Bannon buried a man-up tally at 6:37 via an assist from Luke Wallahan (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) for a 9-7 advantage, and followed that up with another strike at 5:16 to bump the Gulls' cushion to three.

Salve Regina didn't go quietly down the stretch, however, as Eric Backus (Mansfield, Mass.) notched a man-up goal at 1:51, while Alex Makoske (Shoreham, N.Y.) put the Seahawks within one with just six seconds to play. 

Tommy Hughes (Coram, N.Y.) went on to win the ensuing face-off for Endicott to secure the victory and maintain the Gulls' perfect record in league play (6-0).

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Endicott is 22-0 in the all-time series versus Salve Regina.
• Bannon paced the Gulls with four goals and one assist.
• Endicott also received two tallies from Will Jennings (Danvers, Mass.), and solo strikes via Cam Goodrich (Raynham, Mass.), Teddy Hannon (Duxbury, Mass.), Hayden Souza (West Hartford, Conn.), and John Koebel (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.).
• Koebel's goal with two seconds to go in the third quarter was the first of his career.
• Grant Thompson (South Hamilton, Mass.) stopped 10 shots in the win (6-3).
• The Gulls were nearly perfect on clear attempts (21-22).
• Endicott has won six games in a row.
• Makoske and Joe Madden (East Greenwich, R.I.) tied for the team-high in goals with two apiece.
• Matt D'Amore (Duxbury, Mass.) recorded a game-high 17 saves in the loss (7-7).
• The Seahawks are also 3-3 on the road this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (6-6, 6-0 CCC) hosts Senior Day this Saturday against Curry at 12 PM. Salve Regina (7-7, 1-4 CCC) welcomes Nichols to its campus next Wednesday at 4 PM.