MILTON, Mass. – Junior forward Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) scored a pair of goals and added three assists, classmate Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) added two goals, and sophomore forward Anthony Principato (Holmdel, N.J.) had four helpers as the Wentworth hockey team closed out the regular season with a 7-2 win over Curry.
With the win the 13-8-4 Leopards (10-3-1 ECAC Northeast) clinch the number two seed in the upcoming ECAC Northeast Tournament and will host the highest remaining seed after Sunday's pair of first round games. Despite the loss, Curry (14-8-3, 10-2-2) holds the top seed in the tournament. Both the Colonels and the Leopards will have a first round bye and play in the semi-final game of the ECAC Northeast Tournament on March 2.
The Colonels battled the Leopards to a scoreless first period with Wentworth outshooting Curry 10-4. Wentworth was the first to get on the board just 35 seconds into the second frame when junior Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, MI) took a slap shot that sailed past sophomore goaltender Travis Owens (Burbank, CA). Paglino finished the night with five points on two goals and three assists. Curry tied the game late in the period when freshman Josh Pineiro (Burbank, CA) scored off a pass from freshman Mike Lopez (Newton, MA). The Leopards took back the lead at the 17:02 mark when freshman Cameron Gibson (Valencia, CA) took advantage of a power-play and scored off assists from Paglino and freshman goaltender Chris Azzano (Oshawa, ON).
Wentworth outscored Curry 5-1 in the final period of the game with three of the goals scored off an empty net. The Leopards scored the first two goals of the period before Curry would score their second and final goal. Junior Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, CA) scored his first and second with both goals assisted by Paglino and sophomore Anthony Principato (Holmdel, NJ). Principato finished the game with four assists. Pineiro scored at the 16:35 mark to cut Wentworth's lead to two. Juniors Steve Mohler (Anaheim, CA) and John Williams (Flourtown, PA) were credited with the assists. The Leopards last three goals were all scored with just under three minutes to play. Wentworth capitalized on each empty net situation. Paglino and sophomore Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, CA) and freshman Dozois (Manotick, ONT) scored for the Leopards.
The Colonels finished with a total of 25 shots and the Leopards 32.
Azzano made 23 saves in net for Wentworth for his 12th win of the season. Owens made 25 saves in goal for the Colonels for just his second loss.
-Portions of this story courtesy of Curry Sports Information-
