SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Western New England men's ice hockey team broke open a 3-all stalemate after two period of play with a three-goal third period as the host Golden Bears doubled up the Leopards, 6-3 in an ECAC Northeast contest played at Smead Rink.
Wentworth scored the lone goal of the opening frame as freshman Devin Smith (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored a power play goal off a feed from junior Seric Kapp (Schaeferstown, Pa.) at the 5:20 mark. The Leopards held a 15-5 shot advantage through the first 20 minutes, but Western New England junior Tim Carr (Pine Bush, N.Y.) held the Black & Gold to a single goal.
The middle stanza saw the two teams combine for five goals, beginning with Western New England knotting the score just 28 ticks into the period when senior Chris Connors (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored on a pass from classmate Brian Prost (Parma, Ohio). At the 2:02 mark, junior Ben Iwanowski (Dorval, Que.) scored off passes from classmate Jordan Bourgone (Spruce Grove, Alta.) and sophomore Dan Szerlip (Newton, Mass.) to give the Leopards a 2-1 edge.
Western New England tied the game at 2-all at the 5:05 mark when juniors Joe Budnick (Newington, Conn.) and Andrew Cramer (New Wilmington, Pa.) set up sophomore Chris Lembo (Southington, Conn.), however Wentworth would take a 3-2 lead 2:41 later when juniors Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) and Beau Burgau (New Ulm, Minn.) set up senior Lawton McCracken (Colbourne, Ont.) for a power play tally. Just 2:40 later the hosts evened the score when Prost scored from junior Nick Diorio (Newington, Conn.) and senior John Kelly (Staten Island, N.Y.). The Golden Bears held a 10-8 shot advantage in the second period.
Midway through the third period the hosts took a 4-3 lead when junior Matt Dore (Shelburne, Mass.) scored from Prost and junior Michael Darrar (Monroe Township, N.J.). Western New England increased its lead to 5-3 when the Golden Bears were on a five-minute power play as Lembo scored from junior Joe Budnick (Newington, Conn.) and Kelly. Senior Dan Monohan (Monroe, N.Y.) scored from senior Eric Gethers (Ashburn, Va.) with 2:26 left to round out the scoring.
Carr made 26 saves in the win while sophomore Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) turned aside 13 shots. The Leopards had a 29-19 shot advantage.
With the win Western New England improves to 4-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. Wentworth, which dropped its second straight tile, falls to 2-5, 1-3. Both team are in action on Saturday. The Golden Bears host Salve Regina while the Leopards host Curry.
