Olitch Records Hat Trick as Wentworth Defeats Plymouth State, 5-3

(Courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information)

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. - Senior Jeff Olitch (Calgary, Alb.) scored his third goal of the game into an empty net with 18 seconds remaining Saturday evening to lift Wentworth Institute of Technology to a 5-3 victory over Plymouth State University in a non-conference men's ice hockey game at Waterville Valley Arena.

Wentworth held a 4-0 lead early in the third period before PSU rallied with three unanswered goals to pull to within one with 1:20 remaining.  The Leopards sealed the win on Olitch's hat trick goal, improving to 9-1-1 overall, while PSU dropped its fourth in a row and slipped to 6-5-0.

Sophomore Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) tallied the only goal of the first period to put the visitors on top.  Wentworth extended its lead to 3-0 with a pair of second-period goals, one each from Olitch and freshman Anthony Principato (Holmdel, N.J.).  Olitch's second of the game at 4:30 of the third period put the Leopards up, 4-0.

Senior Chris Chambers (Crofton, Md.) put the Panthers on the board with his eighth goal of the season at the 5:02 mark of the third period.  Freshman Alex Cottle (West Chester, Pa.) potted his first career goal at 11:15 to cut the deficit to 4-2, and junior Sean Buckley (Sagamore, Mass.) notched his fourth of the season to make it a one-goal game with just 1:20 on the clock.

Olitch spoiled any Panther comeback with his eighth of the season at 19:42 to seal the victory.

There were very few whistles in the game with only three penalties called, two on Wentworth and one on PSU.

The two teams will play the second half of a doubleheader on the same ice Sunday at 2:00 p.m.