SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Freshman forward Brandon Stroud (Clarksville, Ind.) scored the winning goal with 1:36 left in the third period as the Western New England men's hockey team skated to a 2-1 victory over Wentworth in the ECACECAC Northeast opener for both squads Thursday evening (Nov. 17) at Smead Arena. The win for the Golden Bears was just the second in the 20 all-time meetings between the two schools and snapped a 17-game series win streak for the Leopards.
After a scoreless first period, which saw the hosts hold a 10-5 shot advantage, sophomore forward Cory Lillie (East Hampton, N.Y.) gave the visitors a 1-0 lead with his first goal of the season at 14:34 of the middle stanza. Sophomore forward Andrew Yarber (Livonia, Mich.) and freshman forward Seric Kapp (Scheafferstown, Pa.) had the assists. Wentworth outshot Western New England by a 13-5 margin in the middle 20:00.
Western New England tied the contest when sophomore forward John Kelly (Staten Island, N.Y.) fired in a shot from the left side with an assist from sophomore forward Chris Connors (Albany, N.Y.) at the 18:32 mark.
WNE sophomore goalie Eric Sorenson (Fairport, N.Y.) made a key save on a breakaway by freshman forward Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) with 1:55 left in the game.
Each team then had a penalty before Stroud notched the game-winner with his third goal of the year as Kelly provided the key assist. Wentworth pulled junior Mike Jarboe (Grosse Point Park, Mich.) for an extra attacker during the game's final 55 seconds, but could not get the equalizer.
Sorenson finished with 24 saves while Jarboe compiled 26 saves for the Leopards.
This was the third straight win for the Golden Bears who are now 3-1. The Leopards see their two-game win streak come to an end, falling to .500 at 2-2. Western New England is at Curry on Saturday, while Wentworth hosts Johnson & Wales on Sunday.
(Portions of this release courtesy of Western New England Sports Information)
