BOSTON, Mass. – Three different players scored goals, sophomore Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) had two assists, and tournament most outstanding player Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) made 18 saves as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's ice hockey team captured its second straight ECAC Northeast title with a 3-1 win over Salve Regina.
The championship is Wentworth's sixth in program history and the Leopards (16-8-3) earn an automatic berth into the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament. The selections will be announced this evening with the tournament commencing on Wednesday.
Salve Regina got on the board first when freshman Marc Biggs (Dallas, Texas) rifled a shot to the upper right corner that alluded Miller at 17:25 of the first. Sophomore John Scorcia (Hudson, Fla.) and senior Anthony Birbilis (Katonah, N.Y.) collected assists on Biggs' 15th marker of the season.
Wentworth wasted little time tying the score at 1-all as freshman Adam Frank (Clarkston, Mich.) beat Seahawk freshman David Chiokadze (Langhorne, Pa.) with a shot from the slot to the right side just 15 seconds into the middle stanza. Domsodi and classmate Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.) picked up assists on Frank's 10th goal of his rookie season.
The game remained tied until the 11:42 mark of the third when senior Joel Vastl (North Salem, N.H.) and freshman Devin Cobbold (Ottawa, Ont.) fed sophomore Sean McLaughlin (North Billerica, Mass.) in front for what would be the game-winning goal. Less than a minute later junior Cameron Gibson (Valencia, Calif.) added an insurance goal when he scored off a pass from Domsodi at 12:40.
Salve Regina pulled Chiokadze with a little over three minutes left and again with just under two minutes left for an extra attacker. The Seahawks were able to put a pair of shots on goal during this stretch, but Miller kept it a two-goal game.
Wentworth, which won its third straight and ran its unbeaten streak to eight (6-0-2), outshot the Seahawks by a 25-19 margin and Chiokadze made 22 stops. Miller allowed just two goals on 43 shots in the two Leopard wins.
Joining Miller on the all-tournament team were Frank, Leopard senior Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, Calf.), Biggs, Scorcia, and Nichols senior Zach Kohn (Delafield, Wis.).
The Seahawks, who were making their first-ever title game appearance, see their season come to an end with a 10-14-3 record.
