Statistics

CANTON, Mass. – Second-seeded Curry College defeated #3 University of New England, 5-1, in the semifinal of the 2023 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Men's Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday at the Canton Ice House.
 
The Colonels (21-4-1) move on to play top-seeded Endicott, which rallied with three goals in the final six minutes to edge #4 Salve Regina, in the championship match next Saturday [Interactive Bracket]. UNE sits at 19-6-2 and will have to wait to find out about a possible at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
Nick Favaro put Curry in front in the first period with an unassisted goal 5:49 into the game. The Colonels began to pull away with two goals 55 seconds apart in the second period. Eelis Laaksonen scored at the 9:45 mark, and then found Billy Roche for a power play goal to put Curry in front 3-0 with 8:50 to play in the second.
 
Alex Sheehy put the Nor'easters on the board with 5:50 left in the middle period. Dawson Ellis and Jared Christy helped on the UNE goal as the score remained at 3-1 heading into the final 20 minutes.
 
The Colonels survived 1:32 of a 5-on-3 power play for the Nor'easters during the initial portion of the third, and then extended their lead to 4-1 with a goal by George Vonakis with 8:41 to play. Laaksonen added an empty net goal in the closing seconds.
 
UNE outshot Curry 31-25 on the day. Reid Cooper had 30 saves for the Colonels in the victory. Billy Girard IV made 20 stops.