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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- A pair of 2nd-period goals from Noah Gibbs and 24 saves out of Peter Sterling was enough for second-seeded Endicott College to edge No.1 University of New England, 2-1, in the title game of the 2026 Conference of New England (CNE) Men's Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday night (Mar. 7) in front of a sellout crowd of 1,500 at the Harold Alfond Forum.

The Gulls (21-3-3) secure the CNE's automatic spot in the 2026 NCAA Division III Championship with the win, and appear well-positioned to earn one of two first-round byes when the bracket of 14 teams is announced Sunday (9:30 p.m.) on NCAA.com. EC is now 5-2 in league finals since the CNE/Commonwealth Coast Conference began sponsoring men's ice hockey in 2016-17 (9 years).

The Nor'easters (21-6-0) must now wait and hope the math that makes up the official NCAA Power Index (NPI) settles in their favor in order to potentially join the Gulls in the field as one of four at-large squads.

Sterling -- who landed the CNE Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year distinctions earlier in the week (and All-Conference 1st Team) -- received the tournament's Most Outstanding Player for stopping 51 out of 53 shots over Endicott's two games in the championship. The first-year turned away nine shots in the 3rd period to seal the result, after his side was out-shot 18-6 overall and 10-1 on-target.

UNE had returned from the 2nd intermission with better form than it had in the initial 40 minutes, and, after clearing an early penalty off the board, got its first and only chance on the advantage with 8:01 remaining in the contest. The hosts made good on that opportunity at the 12:40 mark, as Drew Olivieri (CNE 2nd Team) continued his hot streak by putting a redirect in the slot under the pads of Sterling. The centering feed came from Juraj Elias at the right point, and Chip Hamlett (CNE 3rd Team) also assisted on the play. Olivieri -- who tallied four goals and five points in the semifinal round -- has at least one point in nine straight outings (11 goals, 6 assists), and entered the day with the 12th-best goals per game rate and the 7th-best points clip in the country.

With the crowd back alive, the Nor'easters pressed forward, but Sterling made five saves down the stretch to maintain the lead. UNE then played the last 77 seconds with an extra skater, however, the EC defense did not allow a shot in that time. The Gulls also missed three looks at an empty net in the final minute, but the insurance was not needed, ultimately.

Nine of the past 11 meetings between the programs have been decided by one goal, or tied, including on January 17, when the Nor'easters were victorious at home (2-1). That day began the 11-game win streak which was halted tonight.

Following a scoreless opening 20 minutes, Gibbs broke the ice for the visitors just 1:00 into the middle frame, taking a lead pass in transition from Louie Kamienski (CNE 1st Team) and popping it in on the right side. After UNE killed off its first penalty, Gibbs struck again with 2:07 left in the 2nd, gathering a cross-ice pass from Antti Autere at the right dot and squeezing a near-side shot off the dipping glove Nor'easter netminder Harrison Chesney.

Chesney (CNE 2nd Team) registered 20 saves for the hosts. He and Sterling came into the contest nationally 4th and 5th, respectively, in goals against average (1.62 and 1.63). The defensive schemes on both sides won out versus some top-8 scoring offenses.

UNE was on top of 37-24 margin in faceoffs, guided by Olivieri, Elias, Ike Keller, and Dominic Murphy (CNE 1st Team). Hamlett, Kevin O'Keefe (CNE 3rd Team), and David Wilcox each contributed a couple of blocked shots. The PK unit did its job, once again, improving to 93-for-94 on the year. The lone blip was back in that January 17 match; 39 consecutive penalty kills since then.

UNE was competing in its fifth conference final, having won the crown in the previous two instances (2019, and 2022 over Endicott).

The squads came into the night ranked 5th (UNE) and 7th (EC) in the latest USCHO.com Top 15 Poll.