Statistics

CANTON, Mass. -- No. 9 University of New England scored twice in the opening 4:41 to set the tone on its way to a 5-1 victory over No. 2 Curry College in the Conference of New England opener Friday evening (Nov. 7) at the Canton Ice House.

The Nor'easters' win was just the second in the last seven meetings with the Colonels, who advanced to the national semifinals last year and the quarterfinals two seasons ago. Curry was coming off an impressive 6-1 road win over Norwich University to open the season. The triumph was the fourth versus a Top 5 opponent for the Nor'easters, with the previous three coming against Utica twice (2022, 2023) and Curry (2023).

UNE jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage with a pair of goals in the opening five minutes. Dominic Murphy converted a pass from Cam Bergeman on an odd-man rush to get the Nor'easters on the board less than a minute in, then Chip Hamlett rifled home a wrist shot from the low slot after the Nor'easters won a draw from the right circle. Aidan Curran was credited with an assist on Hamlett's tally.

After Karim Gayfullin cut UNE's cushion in half with a marker just 48 seconds into the second period, Juraj Elias flicked home a rebound for a power-play goal to push the Nor'easter advantage to 3-1 with just over three minutes remaining in the frame. Drew Olivieri set-up the scoring play.

The scoreboard stayed that way until the closing stages of the contest when UNE salted away the victory with a pair of scores in the final two minutes. The first came with the Curry net empty when David Wilcox converted from the Nor'easters' blue line. That was followed by a wrister from the high slot by Jacob Pellerin. Noah Szretter and Brayden Cook assisted on the game's final goal.

Goaltender Harrison Chesney earned the win with a 23-save performance. The Nor'easters' penalty kill played a key role in the victory, fending off all seven of Curry's power-play opportunities.

Thomas Heaney finished with 26 stops for Curry (1-1, 0-1 CNE).

UNE (2-0, 1-0) will open its home schedule tomorrow when Western New England University comes to Biddeford. Puck drop at the Harold Alfond Forum is slated for 7 p.m.