MARLBORO, Mass. – Four different players scored a goal and six others recorded an assist as the Wentworth hockey team won its third straight game with a 4-2 triumph at Becker in an ECAC Northeast matchup. With the win, Wentworth assures itself of a home game in either the first round or the semifinals of the ECAC Northeast Tournament, depending on the outcome of its final two games.
The Leopards drew first blood when junior forward Casey Shade (Anchorage, Alaska) scored at the 4:39 mark from classmate Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) and freshman defender Colten Derickson (Kennewick, Wash.). Just 15 seconds later junior forward Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) and freshman defenseman Chris Marinakos (Orilla, Ont.) set up freshman forward Cory Lillie (East Hampton, N.Y.) to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.
Becker cut the lead to 2-1 at the midway point of the period when sophomore defenseman Don Kane (Staten Island, N.Y.) set up junior forward Patrick Bellew (Newington, Conn.). The game remained a one-goal game until the 12:25 mark of the period when freshman forward Cameron Gibson (Valencia, Calif.) scored from classmate Lawton McCracken (Colborne, Ont.).
After a second period that saw no scoring but a combined 26 minutes in penalties, the hosts made it a one-goal game with just over 5:00 left when freshman forward Dan Kane scored from sophomore forward Mark Lolito (Staten Island, N.Y.) and junior forward Brian Murray (Manalapan, N.J.). With 1:30 left, the Hawks pulled junior netminder Jake Rosenthal (Wantagh, New York) for an extra attacker. However, the Leopards would take advantage of the open net when junior forward Forrest Ellis (Pembroke, N.H.) scored from freshman forward Matthew Dozois (Manotick, Ont.) to seal the win.
Freshman Chris Azzano (Oshawa, Ont.) made 29 saves – including 13 in the final period for the Leopards, while Rosenthal turned aside 14 shots. Becker outshot Wentworth, 31-18, but was unable to capitalize on eight power plays.
With the win Wentworth improves to 11-8-4 overall and sits in sole possession in third place in ECAC Northeast play with an 8-3-1 (17 points) record. The Hawks fall to 8-12-3 (5-3-3). The top six teams make the ECAC Northeast Tournament, with the top two seeds earning byes into the semifinals. Wentworth has assured itself of no lower than a fourth-place finish and hosts Salve Regina on Thursday.
