Kersner Tricks RamsIce Hockey  BOSTON, Mass.-- Sophomore Jared Kersner (Rockville, Md.) netted a natural hat trick, including the go-ahead goal in the closing seconds of the second period, to lift Becker to a 5-2 ECAC Northeast ice hockey victory over Suffolk Monday evening at Walter Brown Arena. The hat trick was the first in school history.
Kersner gave the visiting Hawks (10-10-2, 7-5-1 ECAC Northeast) the lead on three occasions in the contest, as his power play marker 3:52 into the game staked Becker to an early 1-0 advantage. Junior Alex Olson (Hingham, Mass.) evened matters for the host Rams (10-11, 8-4 ECAC Northeast) with a power play tally of his own at the 9:01 mark of the opening frame, but Kersner gave the Hawks a 2-1 cushion 8:41 into the middle stanza with a shorthanded goal. Freshman Tom Coulstring (Whitman, Mass.) tied the score at 2-2 for Suffolk with 1:05 remaining in the second period, but Kersner completed his hat trick and gave Becker the lead for good with just two seconds remaining in the middle frame, and tallies off the sticks of junior John Nogatch (Kirkland, Wash.) and freshman Robert Higgins (Grandville, Mich.) that came less than two minutes apart in the final period sealed the visitors’ triumph.
Nogatch added an assist to go with his goal in the win for Becker, which also received a pair of assists each from junior Chris Reilly (Lexington, Mass.) and freshman Anthony Libonati (McMinnville, Ore.) as well as single helpers off the sticks of sophomores Michael Herbert (Naperville, Ill.), Mike Caprio (Valencia, Calif.) and Jim Ceglarek (Chicago, Ill.) as well as freshman Brad Jones (Grand Blanc, Mich.). Juniors Mitch Sabo (Bell Canyon, Calif.) and John Rocchio (East Greenwich, R.I.), along with sophomore Brian Smusz (Daleville, Va.) and freshman Paul Weisser (Longmeadow, Mass.), collected assists in the setback for Suffolk.
Sophomore Tony Stoehr (De Pere, Wis.) picked up the win in goal for Becker with a 21-save effort, while freshman Jeff Rose (Collinsville, Conn.) made 36 stops in net for Suffolk (his sixth straight 30-plus save performance) as the Hawks outshot the Rams by a 41-23 margin in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Suffolk hosts Plymouth State in an ECAC Northeast outing on Wednesday evening at Walter Brown Arena beginning at 7:00 p.m., while Becker will be idle until next Tuesday, February 19th when the Hawks return to Boston to take on Wentworth in an ECAC Northeast match-up that faces off at 7:15 p.m. Courtesy Suffolk Sports Information |