BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) scored a pair of goals as the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team earned its third straight trip to the ECAC Northeast championship game with a 4-1 win over Johnson & Wales in one semifinal game played at Matthews Arena. The Leopards will host fifth-seeded Salve Regina (10-13-3), a 3-2 upset winner over second-seeded Nichols in the championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Despite the Leopards outshooting the Wildcats by a 14-6 margin, the hosts could not find a way to get the puck past Johnson & Wales senior Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, Ohio).
At 8:29 of the second period Wentworth got on the board when Frank scored from sophomore Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) and senior Reed Rushing (Seattle, Wash.). The Leopards added to their lead nearly eight minutes later when senior Craig Cardone (Westford, Mass.) scored from classmate Joel Vastl (North Salem, N.H.) and sophomore Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.).
Wentworth increased its lead to 3-0 at 8:41 of the third when Frank tallied his second of the game, off passes from Iwanowski and freshman Mike Cox (Marlborough, Mass.), before Johnson & Wales freshman Josh Obregon (Omaha, Neb.) scored off a rebound of a classmate Luke Nickles (Chicago, Ill.) shot to make it 3-1 at 13:14. Also assisting on the goal was freshman Daniel Chang (Woodland Hills, Calif.).
The Wildcats pulled Cooper with 1:14 left for an extra attacker and put a pair of shots on Wentworth freshman Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.), however could not find the back of the net. Senior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) would tip a pass to Cox who scored on an empty net with 11 ticks left to seal the victory.
Miller made 23 saves on the night, while Cooper stopped 32 in his final collegiate appearance. Wentworth held a 36-24 shot advantage and successfully killed off the lone penalty called in the game.
The Leopards won their second straight and ran their unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2), while improving to 15-8-3 on the year. Johnson & Wales ends its season at 10-16-1.
Wentworth will be seeking its second consecutive conference championship, and sixth since 2000. The Leopards will be making their ninth appearance in the title game, while the Seahawks will be making their first appearance in the conference championship. Wentworth swept the season series, winning, 4-3 (overtime), in Middletown, R.I., and closed out the regular season with a 5-2 win at Matthews Arena.
