BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.) and freshman Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) each scored a goal and senior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) recorded three assists as the Wentworth Institute of Technology hockey team clinched the top seed in the upcoming ECAC Northeast Tournament with a 5-2 win over Salve Regina at Matthews Arena.
Salve Regina began the contest with momentum, outshooting the Leopards 6-0 with four of the six shots coming on a pair of power plays. The Leopards would not record a shot on goal until Frank scored a power play goal from Jameson and Crowe at 8:16 and were outshot by an 11-7 margin through the first 20:00.
Wentworth wasted little time taking a 2-0 lead in the second period when Crowe scored from Frank and Jameson just 18 seconds into the period. Less than two minutes later the Seahawks cut the lead to 2-1 when sophomore John Scorcia (Hudson, Fla.) scored on the power play from junior Chad Hollenshade (Lutherville, Md.) and sophomore Michael Naso (Londonderry, N.H.).
The Leopards took a 3-1 lead at the 9:13 mark of the period when junior Fred Gervasi (Mississauga, Ont.) intercepted a clearing pass and went in alone for a shorthanded goal, which would hold up as the game-winning marker.
Freshman Devin Cobbold (Ottawa, Ont.) gave the Black & Gold a 4-1 lead 52 seconds into the third period when he scored a power play goal, set up by Jameson. Sophomore Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) made it a 5-1 game at 4:27 when he scored from linemates Frank and Crwoe before Salve Regina rounded out the scoring with a power play goal from freshman Cameron Gaudet (Burlington, Mass.) at 13:12, which was assisted by Naso and freshman Marc Biggs (Dallas, Texas).
Freshman Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) won his 11th game of the season, improving to 11-2-2 with a 31-save performance. Freshman David Chiokadze (Langhorne, Pa.) made 13 saves on 18 shots in 44:22 of work before sophomore Frankie McCormick (Peabody, Mass.) turned aside the only two shots he faced in 15:33 of work. Salve Regina held a 33-20 shot advantage for the game.
Both teams scored a pair of power play goals, with the Leopards going 2-for-5 and the Seahawks going 2-for-7.
With the win, Wentworth (14-8-3, 10-2-2) runs its unbeaten streak to six (4-0-2) and captures its second straight – and third in the last four seasons – regular-season championship. The Leopards will host the lowest remaining seed after the first round of the 2013 ECAC Northeast Tournament on Wednesday, February 27, at 8:15 p.m. Salve Regina falls to 8-13-3 (5-7-2) and awaits the outcome of the remaining league games to see who it will face in Saturday's first round.
