After an on and off start to the season, the Suffolk University men’s hockey team looks to use their win against nationally ranked conference rival University of New England as a jumping off point to finish atop the conference standings.
After two games against No. 7 ranked UNE, Suffolk split the two game series, winning game one 2-0 and falling short in a shoot out 7-4 in game two. Goalie Austin McNicholas had an impressive 27 saves in the shut out win.
Suffolk is in contention to finish first in the Conference of New England with about a month left in the season. A major key to their success this year has been their ability to finish power plays on offense and kill opponent power plays on defense.
Suffolk scores on 22% of their power plays and kills 87% of their opponents power play opportunities. Both of those rank in the top 30 nationwide. Suffolk killed the UNE power play four of five times during their weekend series.
“I think a big win like that is important to building our confidence in the locker room, we have high expectations so we weren’t surprised if we played our game we’d come out on top,” said McNicholas.
This stellar play on the defensive side has been anchored by outstanding play from McNicholas in the net. He is 5th in the conference in goals against average with 2.88 goals per 60 minutes. He also ranks number one in the conference in shutouts with four.
“I’m just trying to do my job and my team in front of me makes my job a lot easier so a lot of the credit goes to them,” McNicholas added.
Suffolk was able to follow up their impressive performance with back to back wins against the Wentworth Institute of Technology. They will look to keep the momentum going against Johnson & Wales University in the coming days.
This defense will be put to the test against Johnson & Wales, who rank top 15 in the nation converting on the power play 25% of the time. Suffolk will be defending a top spot in the conference and will try to keep the JWU power play opportunities to a minimum.
When they do get the power play opportunities, the key to the game will be to snuff out these chances. Suffolk will look for more of the same on the defensive end.
“A lot of it is just guys buying in and putting a lot of pride in being good on special teams, the guys in front of me are blocking shots and working extremely hard,” said McNicholas on the Rams ability to kill the power play.
To secure the conference lead this is an important two game series Suffolk will need to capitalize against a stingy Johnson and Wales defense. JWU ranks top 10 in the conference for penalty kill percentage. Suffolk will try to capitalize on their opportunities in a defensive battle.
The battle on special teams will be a key factor for Suffolk to continue their momentum and extend their hot streak, heading into the final stretch of the season.
