BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Travis Daniel (North Brunswick, N.J.) and senior forward Jim Ennis (Roslindale, Mass.) each scored goals while senior Kevin Bendel (Denville, N.J.) turned aside 22 shots to record the shutout as the University of Massachusetts Boston ice hockey team defeated Wentworth, 2-0, in a non-conference contest at Matthews Arena.
UMass Boston held a 12-5 shot advantage through the opening 20 minutes with half of their shots coming on a pair of power play attempts. However, freshman netminder Alex Peck (Kirkland, Que.) made several key stops to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
Wentworth controlled play early in the second period, taking the stanza's first four shots before the Beacons created scoring chances of their own. At the 17:29 mark, freshman defenseman John Houston (Pittsburgh, Pa.) took a shot from the right point which was tipped to the high right side by Daniel, breaking the scoreless stalemate. Also assisting on the goal was junior defenseman Rob Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) UMass Boston outshot Wentworth by a 10-7 margin in the second period.
The third period was a back and forth affair with both teams having chances to get on the board, but both Peck and Bendel made 10 saves apiece in the stanza. With 59 seconds remaining Peck was pulled for an extra attacker, however at the 19:46 mark Ennis rifled a shot from the red line into the open net to seal the game.
Peck made 31 saves in the loss as the Leopards were outshot by a 33-22 margin.
Winners of two straight UMass Boston (4-5-2) is idle until the Beacons host the 47th Annual Codfish Bowl and will play Southern New Hampshire on Jan. 6. Wentworth sees its three-game win streak come to an end, falling to 6-4-1. The Leopards host Bowdoin on Jan. 3.
