BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman forward Mike Domsodi's (Kirkland, Que.) goal with 5:40 left snapped a 3-all tie and lifted the Wentworth hockey team to a 5-3 win over Wentworth in an ECAC Northeast semifinal played at Matthews Arena. With the win the Leopards advance – for the second straight season and eighth time in the conference's history – to the conference championship game and will host second-seeded Curry College in a re-match of last year's title game Saturday at 2:00.
The Leopards came out of the gate firing, scoring three times in a span of 11:15. Sophomore Patrick Rice (west Des Moines, Iowa) got things started with a goal, which was assisted by classmate Cameron Gibson (Valencia, Calif.) and freshman Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.) at 3:06. Senior Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.) and junior Andrew Yarber (Livonia, Mich.) set up freshman Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.) to make it a 2-0 game at 10:20 before Gibson and Rice set up sophomore Fred Gervasi (Mississauga, Ont.) at 14:27.
Western New England trimmed the lead to 3-1 on a goal from freshman forward Brandon Stroud (Clarksville, Ind.), which was assisted by sophomores Trent Kruger (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Cam Napolitan (East Longmeadow, Mass.) with 2:39 left in the opening frame. Wentworth held a 15-7 shot advantage in the period.
The Golden Bears, who would outshoot the Leopards by a 15-8 margin in the second period, got the frame's only goal when Stroud and freshman Matt Dore (Shelburne, Mass.) set up Krueger to cut the lead to 3-2.
Both teams had chances to score early in the third period, but it wasn't until the 12:00 minute mark that the Golden Bears were able to tie the game on a sophomore Dan Monahan (Monroe, N.Y.) goal, which was assisted by sophomores Eric Gethers (Ashburn, Va.) and Rance Vukovic (Lansdale, Pa.).
Just 2:20 later junior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) found Domsodi in front who went high, left side to break the tie. Paglino and junior Reed Rushing (Seattle, Wash.) set up Gervasi for his second of the night to provide some insurance.
Western New England pulled freshman Tim Carr (Pine Bush, N.Y.) for an extra attacker with 1:28 remaining, but were unable to get any closer.
Freshman Alex Peck (Kirkland, Que.) made 29 saves for the Black & Gold, while Carr turned back 32 shots. Wentworth held a 37-32 shot advantage.
The Leopards (19-6-1) and Colonels (14-10-2) split the season series, with each team winning on its home ice. Wentworth will be looking for its first title since 2004 while Curry is shooting for its third straight championship.
Western New England sees its season come to an end with a 14-12-1 record. It marked the first winning season for the Golden Bears since the 1993-94 campaign.
