This week in Suffolk University sports: Men’s hockey resumes play with losing streak, women’s hockey battling tough new year schedule, men’s basketball stumbles out of holiday break and women’s basketball enduring new year losing streak.
Men’s hockey starts new year with losing streak
Not long after the calendar flipped to 2026, men’s hockey traveled to the Comfort Inn Complex Winter Classic in Plattsburgh, New York for two games. Unfortunately for the Rams, they ended with the same result.
The first game saw Suffolk take on the Mammoths of Amherst College Jan. 2. The teams scored a goal each in the first and second periods, with Marko Giourof and Daniel McKiernan netting goals for the Rams plus Amherst goals by Carson Baylis and Cristobal Tola. Overtime was forced after a scoreless third period, where Amherst scored on the power play to pick up a 3-2 win.
Suffolk took on Wesleyan University the next day, falling by an identical 3-2 overtime result. Two Wesleyan goals were sandwiched by Nolan Leonard and Aidan O’Connell goals for the Rams. Dylan Margel scored 3:10 into overtime to give Wesleyan the win.
The Rams returned to Conference of New England play Jan. 6 against Roger Williams University. After a scoreless first period, Giourof gave Suffolk the first lead in the second period before JJ Alger and Bo Clark scored for the Hawks to make it 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Suffolk charged to a 3-2 lead in the third when Giourof and Michael Gallagher found the back of the net, but three unanswered goals by the Hawks over the final 10 minutes of the game sealed the Rams’ fate with a 5-3 loss.
Women’s hockey sees losing streak continue with January struggles
The new year has also not been kind to women’s hockey, as the Rams have a January schedule in store that features plenty of nationally ranked competition, as well as teams that are not ranked but receiving votes in the national coaches’ poll.
The January slate started against Connecticut College on home ice Jan. 2. Bella Schmidt scored less than two minutes into the game to make it 1-0 Rams before four straight Camels goals put them at a 4-1 advantage in the third period. Alexia Hill added a power play goal before an empty net goal for the Camels made it a 5-2 Suffolk loss.
Up next was another home match, this time against Bowdoin College. The Polar Bears scored three times in the second and twice in the third and Abby Matusovich had 13 saves as Bowdoin cruised to a 5-0 shutout win.
Lola Rubenstein made her first start of the season and second of her career. Despite allowing five goals, she turned in an excellent performance against Bowdoin thanks to a 52-save effort against 57 shots on goal.
The same theme played out again for Suffolk Jan. 6 against No. 4 nationally ranked Middlebury College on the road. A game that was a two-goal deficit for the Rams after two periods quickly became a rout thanks to five Middlebury goals in the third period, three of which came in a 57-second span.
Freshman Lucy Cantin was the starting goalie for the Rams, making 36 saves on 43 Middlebury shots on goal in her college debut. Lauren Sobczak made 12 saves for Middlebury while playing nearly 50 minutes. Bridget Gray played the final 9:38 in goal and made one save.
Men’s basketball stumbles out of holiday break
Men’s basketball resumed their schedule Dec. 30 with a game against the top team in Division III, the Trinity College Bantams, at the Trinity Holiday Tournament.
Suffolk was outscored 36-25 in the first half and 41-28 in the second as they were handed a 77-53 loss by the Bantams. Nick Verdile was a bright spot for the Rams on the court, as he scored 15 points on 4-for-6 shooting from three point range. Harrison Neil led the bench production for the Rams with a nine point, five rebound day.
The next day, the Rams lost 80-69 to UMass Dartmouth in the consolation game of the tournament. The Corsairs scored 40 points in both halves to drop Suffolk’s record to 6-5. Verdile had another strong day from range, shooting 5-for-9 from three as he scored 21 points.
Suffolk returned to CNE play Jan. 3 against the University of Hartford, falling 67-64 in a tightly contested battle. A 34-30 lead at halftime gave way to a 37-30 second half in favor of the Hawks, leading to the three point loss.
Greg Keane and Hatcher Nordquist tied for the team lead in points with 15. Keane had 10 points from the field and five at the free throw line, while Nordquist shot 7-for-13 from the field for all but one of his 15 points.
The Rams finally returned to the win column against the University of New England Jan. 6, outlasting the Nor’Easters with a 75-69 win. Suffolk turned a five point halftime deficit into a 11-point swing in the second half, outsourcing UNE 46-35 over the final 20 minutes.
Verdile was once again the star of the show, pouring in 25 points on 5-for-14 shooting from three and 8-for-20 shooting overall. James Jones had a 22-point, 12-rebound double-double thanks to a 10-for-16 day from the field.
Women’s basketball sees losing streak reach four
Women’s basketball resumed play against Clark University Dec. 30, being outscored in all but the second quarter to drop a 66-53 final score, falling to 8-3 overall.
No one from the Rams reached double figures in points, rebounds or assists. Allison Bono and Jordan Moreau both had nine points as the Rams shot just 4-for-20 from three compared to 8-for-24 by Clark.
Suffolk couldn’t rebound in a CNE contest against Hartford a few days later, falling 62-42 to the Hawks as their losing streak reached three games. Khaya Skene and Tatiana Tune made the only threes for the Rams, who went 2-for-10 from beyond the arc. Nine of Moreau’s 15 points came from the free throw line while Ava Thurman had 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
Suffolk’s offense dried up in the fourth quarter, putting a cap on a 20 point loss as they were outscored 14-5 by the Hawks in the final 10 minutes of play in addition to 16-9 in favor of Hartford after the first quarter.
The Rams fell to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in CNE play Jan. 6 against UNE on the road with a 62-50 loss.
UNE held a slim 29-27 lead at halftime before pulling away in the third quarter, outscoring the Rams 15-5 in those 10 minutes. Bono and Moreau led the charge offensively for Suffolk, with Bono scoring 12 points and Moreau chipping in 11. The Nor’Easters were a force in the rebounding department, out-rebounding the Rams 47-33.
