This week in Suffolk University sports: Men’s hockey delivers two big wins, women’s hockey continues to fall down conference standings, men’s basketball splits two home games, softball slides into new season and track & field takes on three-meet weekend.
Men’s hockey comes up big with two-win weekend
Men’s hockey is having a hard time doing anything but winning right now, and I think they’re just fine with that.
Facing Western New England University in a Conference of New England battle Feb. 13, Suffolk won a close battle with a 3-2 overtime win to extend their win streak to eight games. The overtime win cost Suffolk a point in the CNE standings, sitting one point behind Endicott College for second place instead of having the same amount of points and holding second place since the Rams have the tiebreaker.
Despite that, it was still a win for the Rams. Matt Pimental and Alex Ondos had the goals in regulation for Suffolk and Nolan Leonard won the game in overtime just 17 seconds in. It was a miracle for WNE that they forced OT, as Golden Bears goalie Luca Scaglione made 62 saves on the day.
The next day, Suffolk saw some of those shots hit the back of the net as they trounced WNE with a 10-1 win, their ninth in a row. The 10 goals are the most the team has ever scored in a single game, and the nine wins in a row are also a program-best.
It was 2-1 Suffolk after one period, as the first 20 minutes were dominated by penalties. Both teams combined for 52 penalty minutes in the first period, with WNE responsible for 36 of them.
In the second period, Suffolk turned the game into a rout with a seven-goal stretch, followed by one more in the third period to make it 10 goals. Daniel McKiernan had four points on two goals and two assists, while freshman Alex Ondos had a goal and four assists to pace the team with five points. Fifteen of the 19 skaters for Suffolk recorded at least one point.
To close out the regular season, Suffolk faces Curry College for two games. The two games against the Colonels will be pivotal in deciding who gets to skip the first round of the CNE playoffs and who won’t.
Being just one point behind Endicott, Suffolk only needs to be even with the Gulls in points to secure second place and a first-round bye. Finishing behind them in any fashion means the Rams will host a first-round playoff game instead of waiting until round two. Endicott closes the regular season with two games against Johnson & Wales.
Women’s hockey sees losing streak continue with winless week
Completely opposite of the men’s team, the women’s hockey team is having a hard time winning games. Their current losing streak is now up to six games, and they’ve won just once since the calendar flipped to 2026.
Against the University of New England at home Feb. 13, Nor’Easters goalie Kyleigh Matola posted a 22-save shutout of the Rams. On the other side, Katelyn Michals stopped 20 of 24 shots before being pulled for Lucy Cantin in the last few minutes of the second period. Cantin made 21 saves on 22 shots in just over 24 minutes of action.
Cantin got the start for Suffolk the next day against WNE, and the result was the same for the Rams, losing 6-2 to the Golden Bears.
Both Suffolk goals came on the power play, courtesy of Lily Abraham in the first and Anya Nichipor in the second. WNE’s power play converted three times and put six of their 42 shots past Cantin, two in each period. Suffolk will look to end the regular season on a better note with games against Curry and Johnson & Wales in the coming week.
Men’s basketball splits two game home set
A dominating start led to men’s basketball never looking back and cruising to a dominating 84-55 win against UNE on home court Feb. 14 after senior Connor Strickland was honored as part of the team’s senior day celebration.
The Rams started the game with a 12-0 lead early and a 41-21 lead at halftime. Suffolk outscored the Nor’Easters 43-34 in the second half to secure the 29-point win.
Four of Suffolk’s five starters were in double figures for points. Nick Verdile led the team with 17 points, James Jones chipped in 14 and Greg Keane and Hatcher Nordquist each had 12 points. Declan Davis added 15 points off the bench, thanks to 3-for-6 shooting from three and 6-for-9 shooting on the day. Keane was also a force defensively for the Rams, blocking five UNE shot attempts as he continues to sit in the top five in the country in blocks per game.
Taking on No. 14 ranked Endicott on home court, a tightly contested game ended with a 74-69 defeat for the Rams. Down by 11 points with 10 minutes to go, the Rams clawed back into the game and even tied it with a few minutes to play on a three from Nordquist, but the Gulls ultimately made a few more shots in the final minutes to slip past the Rams and avoid what would’ve been their first conference loss and a major upset win for the Rams.
Suffolk’s loss ensures the Rams can’t pass WNE for second place in the CNE standings, ending any chance of a bye in the first round of the playoffs. They cannot finish lower than third in the standings, ensuring they will host the sixth-place team in the standings in the first round of the playoffs. Based on the standings as of Feb. 17, it will either be Roger Williams University, the University of Hartford, or UNE.
Late game heroics lead to women’s basketball win on senior day
While the chances of getting a playoff spot are gone, women’s basketball is still battling to end the regular season.
Celebrating the careers of Allison Bono and Delaney More on senior day Feb. 14 against UNE, the Rams used a little late-game magic to knock off the Nor’Easters with a 45-42 win.
Suffolk was playing from behind all day long, until a putback layup from Akiyah Brown with 44 seconds left in regulation put the Rams ahead 43-42. Olivia Verdile sealed the win with a jumper one possession later.
Bono once again paced the Rams offensively, scoring 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting while also coming down with seven rebounds. Ava Thurman scored 10 points off the bench and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds on the day. Thurman and Verdile each hit two threes as well, tied for the team lead.
The Rams couldn’t make it two straight wins against Endicott on home court Feb. 17, falling to the Gulls 65-56 to drop to 11-13 overall and 5-10 in CNE play. Bono’s 13 points led the Rams offensively again, with Tatiana Tune right behind her with 12 as the only Rams in double figures. Mia Corazzini’s eight points and seven rebounds off the bench paced the Suffolk reserves.
Softball slides into new season with California trip
Starting the season in California for the first time, softball rallied for a comeback win over Occidental College Feb. 13, the Rams’ first season-opening win since 2019.
Down 6-2 entering the seventh and down to their final out, Suffolk saw Julia Mills deliver a two-run single and Lily Newhall a two-run double to tie the game and force extra innings. Catherine Carignan then added a two-run double of her own in the eighth to put Suffolk ahead for good with an 8-7 win.
No comeback was needed the next day against La Sierra University, with the Rams improving to 2-0 with a 4-2 win over the Golden Eagles.
Roma Briad gave the Rams a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning thanks to an RBI single that was able to score Newhall as well on a throwing error. In the sixth, Carignan reached on a fielder’s choice that scored two runs, putting Suffolk in the driver’s seat. Cynthia Rucinski pitched a complete game, allowing no earned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight hitters.
The trip wrapped up with a double header against Claremont Mudd-Scripps Feb. 15. Game one of the doubleheader saw the Athenas jump ahead 3-0 in the first inning before scoring four times in the third and twice in the fourth, winning 9-0 via the mercy rule. Newhall was the starting pitcher and allowed all nine runs, but only two were earned thanks to three errors by the Rams.
Suffolk bounced back in game two, picking up a 6-3 win on the back of a five-run first inning. Jolie Quintana hit an RBI double and Mills added an RBI single before Dana Still hit a bases-clearing, three-run double to make it 5-0 before the Athenas stepped to the plate. Rucinski pitched another complete game, striking out four hitters.
Track & field stays busy with three-meet weekend
It was a busy weekend for indoor track & field, as Rams athletes competed at the Crimson Open meet, the Valentine Invitational at Boston University and the Cupid Challenge at Tufts University.
Senior Hayden Green was the lone representative at the Crimson Open for the men’s team, racing the 5-kilometer run to a finishing time of 16:25.48. On the women’s side, Cassie Silkoff and Katarina Ferreira ran 800 meters, Gina Cappello, Chloe Koo, Laina Frasier and Kaitlyn Cullen each ran the one kilometer, while Megan Dunn completed the mile in 5:52.76.
At the Valentine invite, Will Manix and Emmett St. Pierre each set personal bests in the 400-meter dash, with Manix finishing in 50.8 seconds and St. Pierre at 52.05. Manix and Mohamed Mehaya both finished in the top 100 in the 400. On the women’s side, JJ Conteh’s 26.38 second 200-meter dash time was good for a personal best. Sofia Moukaddem and Tess Drury also notched personal records in the 3-kilometer run, with Moukaddem finishing at 9:54.70 and Drury at 10:24.44.
Freshman Connor Johnson’s 7.46 second time in the 60-meter dash made him the only member of the men’s team to set a personal best at the Cupid Challenge, with seven other Rams competing in the 60. Fellow freshman Rhoni Johnson also set a personal record in the 60 with a 8.26 second time, the only member of the women’s team to PR.
