Men’s Hockey Collides with Curry Saturday Night

BOSTON – Coming off the momentum of its second shutout of the season, the Suffolk men's hockey team is back on the ice at Emmons Horrian O'Neil Rink Saturday, Feb. 4 when Curry visits the Rams for a 7:30 p.m. clash.  

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LAST TIME OUT
Luke Miller had the game's only tally, and the Suffolk men's hockey team relied on its defense en route to a 1-0 win over Wentworth Thursdya night at Allied Veterans Memorial Rink.   

MORE READING: Miller's Goal Lifts Men's Hockey Past Wentworth, 1-0

RUNDOWN ON THE RAMS
Suffolk's second cleansheet of the season moved the Rams to 5-10-4 overall and 3-8-2 against conference competition. 

Tommy Bishop continues to be the leader for the Rams offensively as the sophomore uses a team-best nine assists and five helpers for 14 points. Classmate Justin Holliday has also found the back of the net five times for eight points, good for third on the squad, while senior Danyil Medvedev is between the two sophomores with nine points on four scores and five handouts. 

Michael Levine and Kevin Venturoso have split the responsibilities in net this season. Levine is 2-4-3 in between the pipes with a .898 save percentage and 3.68 goals-against average. Venturoso, meanwhile, sits at 3-5-0 overall with two shutouts to his credit thanks to a .920 save percentage and 2.82 GAA.  

CATCH UP ON THE COLONELS
Curry is unbeaten in its last four outings with three victories over Salve Regina (4-2), Becker (3-2) and Western New England (4-3) to hold a 11-7-2 overall mark and 8-3-2 league ledger. 

Tyler Vankleef and Jake Heisinger have each produced 20-plus point seasons thus far. Vankleef's team-leading 24 points are off a team-best 13 goals and 11-handouts, while Heisinger's 20 points come on five markers and a team-high 15 handouts. Lionel Mauron is also on the cusp of a 20-point season with the sophomore forward at 19 thanks to four goals and 15 assists. 

Brett Sinclair and Spencer Cookson have each seen action in net for the Colonels this year. Sinclair has seen the most action for a 9-6-2 record with a .901 save percentage and 3.08 GAA. 

WE MEET AGAIN
The Suffolk men's hockey team rallied from a five-goal deficit to make it a one-goal game, 5-4, with plenty of time remaining in the third period, but back-to-back Curry goals within a 1:22 span sealed the Rams 7-4 losing fate at Max Ulin Arena Nov. 17.       

MORE READING: Men's Hockey's Comeback Falls Short at Curry, 7-4

INSIDE THE SERIES
Suffolk trails the all-time series with Curry, 22-5-2.    

EYES ON THE GAME

SHUTOUT
Kevin Venturoso turned aside 28 pucks Saturday night at Becker to record his first collegiate shutout. He is the first Suffolk netminder to tally a cleansheet since Michael Levine blanked Becker Feb. 13, 2016. Just three games later the senior did it again with a 23-save effort against Wentworth. 

SERIES SWEEP
For the first time since 2009, Suffolk swept the regular-season series versus Wentworth. The Rams took the first meeting versus the Leopards, 2-1, Nov. 12, and shutout WIT 1-0 Feb. 2. 

CLEANSHEETS
For the first time since 2007-08, Suffolk has two shutout victories as the Rams blanked Becker, 3-0, Jan. 21, and recorded a 1-0 victory over Wentworth Feb. 2. 

ONE-GOAL GAMES
Suffolk landed on the right side of a one-goal game thanks to Luke Miller's first period marker versus Wentworth Feb. 2. The 1-0 victory over the Leopards marks the first time that the Rams won a 1-0 game since downing Becker 1-0 Feb. 13, 2016. 

HATS OFF
In his Suffolk debut Jackson Tucker registered a hat trick showing, scoring all three of Suffolk's goals in the 3-0 win at Becker. Tucker, the first Ram to pot three pucks in one game since Stanton Turner did so in a 7-2 win over the Hawks Nov. 11, 2014, grabbed CCC Player of the Week accolades for his three-goal game performance. 

MORE READING: Tucker Grabs CCC Player of the Week 

FROZEN FENWAY
Thursday, Jan. 5 will go inside Suffolk men's hockey record books as the Rams took the ice at legendary Fenway Park apart of the Capital One Frozen Fenway 2017. 

MORE READING: Men's Hockey Holds Intersquad Scrimmage at Frozen Fenway

SHORT-HANDED
Luke Miller's first goal of the season came in short-handed fashion at Western New England Nov. 10. The junior forward is the first Ram to net a man-down score since Justin Selep '16 put one away in a 5-2 win at Nichols Jan. 16, 2016. 

CCC FROZEN FIRST
Simon Leahy's first goal of the season turned out to be a historic one as the senior from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the first player across the CCC to find the back of the netting on the inaugural night of play for the first-year league. Since the tally was on the power play, he added to the historics, as the forward also became the first CCC skater to put one away on the man advantage opportunity. 

CCC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tommy Bishop of the Suffolk men's hockey team will go down in history as the first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Player of the Week as the sophomore grabbed the initial award of the inaugural season after a career opening night, the conference office announced Oct. 31.

MORE READING: Bishop Grabs First-Ever CCC Player of the Week Nod

UP NEXT
Its right back on the road for the Rams as they visit nationally ranked Endicott Thursday, Feb. 9. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.