Johnson & Wales Drops Hockey 3-1

Box Score

BOSTON, Mass. --  Freshman Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, Ohio) stopped 25 of 26 shots as three different players scored goals to lift sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales to a 3-1 victory over third-seeded Suffolk in quarterfinal round action of the 2010 ECAC Northeast Ice Hockey Championships Sunday evening at Steriti Rink.

The visiting Wildcats, which improve to 11-14-1 overall on the season, advance to take on top-seeded Wentworth in ECAC Northeast semi-final round play on Wednesday evening at Matthews Arena in Boston in a game that faces off at 7:30 p.m.

Senior Kevin Marcheshi (South Portland, Maine) staked Johnson & Wales to a 1-0 advantage just 54 seconds into the contest by converting feeds from freshmen Jason Pietrasiak (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Max Carter (Royal Oak, Mich.), but the host Rams, who end the season at 12-11-3 overall, evened matters midway through the opening stanza on senior Niles Moore's (Columbus, Ohio) power play goal.  Junior Joe Simeone (Cranston, R.I.) gave the Wildcats the lead for good 7:46 into the middle period on an  assist from freshman Trevor Jewell (Belgrade, Mont.), and junior Craig Houle (Burrillville, R.I.) provided an insurance tally for the visitors with 1:05 to play in the second frame with an unassisted goal in a 4-on-4 situation, as neither team converted in the closing 20 minutes of action.

Cooper kept Suffolk off the board for the final 50-plus minutes of play, as he made 10 saves in the final period alone to post the triumph, while junior Jeff Rose (Collinsville, Conn.) made 36 saves in the setback for the Rams, including 29 over the first 40 minutes of action, as Johnson & Wales outshot Suffolk by a 39-26 margin for the contest in sweeping the three game season series between the two squads.

Johnson & Wales dropped both of its match-ups with Wentworth during the regular season, including a 5-3 setback back on February 3rd in Smithfield, R.I.  Wednesday's other ECAC Northeast semi-final will pit second-seeded Curry against fourth-seeded Becker, who advanced with a 5-4 overtime victory over fifth-seeded Nichols in Sunday's other quarterfinal round contest.