Article by: Dan Ryan

The Suffolk hockey season came to an end on Sunday when the third-seeded Rams were upset by the visitors from Johnson & Wales, the sixth-seed in the ECAC Northeast tournament, by a score of 3-1 at Steriti Rink in the North End.

Jeff Rose made 36 saves for the Rams in the loss, while senior Niles Moore scored the Rams’ lone goal.

The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the game when senior Kevin Marchesi notched his eleventh goal of the season. The Rams would get even on Moore’s tally on the power play nine minutes later, but the Wildcats got second period goals from juniors Joe Simeone and Craig Houle, putting the Rams in a two-goal hole from which they never recovered.

The score may have been more lopsided had it not been for the play of Rose, who made 29 saves in the first two periods alone. Heading into the third period, the Wildcats were outshooting the Rams by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, 29 to 15.

The Rams turned up the offense in the third, firing 10 shots on goal, but Wildcats netminder Matt Cooper turned aside all 10, earning the game’s first star in the process. Cooper finished the game with 25 saves.

For his efforts, Rose was named the game’s second star. The Wildcats will now play top-seeded Wentworth tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Matthews Arena.  The win completed the season sweep for the Wildcats, who beat the Rams all three times they met during the season.

The Rams finished the season with a record of 12-11-3.