This week in Suffolk University sports: men’s hockey maintains top conference spot, women’s hockey continues January struggles and basketball continues to surge.
Men’s hockey maintains conference lead
Facing the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats in Conference of New England play for two games, men’s hockey continued to hold their lead on first place in the CNE standings and increased their winning streak to four games.
The first game against the Wildcats had the Rams trailing 2-0 after the first period. Ralph Berry got one back for Suffolk in the second period, making it 2-1 entering the third. Michael Gallagher scored on the power play just 23 seconds into the third and Marko Giourof had the game winning goal 10 minutes later to give the Rams a comeback win.
At home against the Wildcats Jan. 24, the Rams picked up a 4-1 win to improve to 10-7-1 overall and 10-3-1 in CNE play. Scott McManus, Daniel McKiernan, Aidan O’Connell and Dmitri Voyatzis had the goals for Suffolk, while Austin McNicholas made 20 saves in the win.
Winless slate continues January struggles for women’s hockey
Women’s hockey also took on Johnson & Wales for two games, with the first happening as they celebrated hockey fights cancer night at Porrazzo Rink Jan. 23.
The game was tied 4-4 after two periods after a three-goal outburst in the second by the Rams. Grace Adams scored for the Wildcats in the third before Cassie Borowski tied the game once again. The game went to a shootout that needed 11 rounds to determine who would get the extra point in the CNE standings. It ended up being the Wildcats, who skated away from East Boston with the extra point despite the score going down officially as a 5-5 tie.
Game two was also tied 2-2 through two periods, but it featured two goals first from the Rams before the Wildcats rallied to tie it. Suffolk had the three-goal outburst in the first game, but Johnson & Wales had it this time, outscoring the Rams 3-1 in the third period to secure a 5-3 win.
Goalie Katelyn Michals was once again busy in both games for the Rams, making 88 saves on 97 shots across both games. She made 42 saves in the 5-5 tie and 46 in the 5-3 loss.
Men’s basketball continues January surge up CNE standings
Hosting the Gordon College Fighting Scots on home court Jan. 24, men’s basketball built a large lead early and never looked back en route to a dominating 79-51 win.
Suffolk outscored the Fighting Scots 38-21 in the first half and 41-30 in the second half to improve to 11-7 overall and 7-2 in CNE play, good for second place in the conference. The Rams’ January record sits at 5-2 with two games left in the month.
Hatcher Nordquist led the way for the Rams in the win, scoring 22 points on 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range and 8-for-16 shooting overall, adding six rebounds and two assists to his stat line. Connor Strickland chipped in 13 points in 23 minutes for the Rams, while James Jones also ended in double figures with 11 points.
Women’s basketball picks up second straight conference win
Like the men’s team, women’s basketball also enjoyed a rout on home court against the Fighting Scots, cruising to a 73-49 win to improve to 10-8 overall and 4-5 in CNE play.
Suffolk outscored Gordon in all four quarters, with the biggest margin being a 24-13 advantage in the second. Jordan Moreau and Olivia Verdile each had 18 points for the Rams. Verdile was a force from the field, shooting 4-for-8 from three and 6-for-13 overall, similar to Moreau’s 6-for-14 shooting. Ava Thurman joined Moreau and Verdile in double figures with 11 points, while Allison Bono dominated the glass for the Rams with 13 rebounds.
Track & Field continues season at Gordon Kelly invite
Indoor track & field participated at the Gordon Kelly Invitational just across the Charles River Jan. 24, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On the women’s side, personal records were set by Kaylie Groom and Olivia Coyne in the 60 meter dash, plus Hannah Laderoute in the weight throw.
The men’s team’s performance was headlined by a personal best time of 24.35 in the 200 meter dash by Connor Johnson, plus a debut in the 60 dash by Johnson, the shot put by George Mirogiannis and the 1,000 meter run by Sebastian Vickers-Richard, Declan Shannon and Eric Anderson.
