MILTON, Mass. – Sophomore Jake Diamond's (Lakewood, Colo.) goal with 5:36 remaining in regulation snapped a 1-all tie and lifted the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over Curry in ECAC Northeast play at the Max Ulin Rink.
With the win, Wentworth evens its record at 11-11-2 overall and sits at 9-4 in league play while the Colonels fall to 8-13-2 (4-8).
A scoreless first period saw numerous chances for both squads, however Wentworth sophomore Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) and Curry junior Derek Mohney (Amherst, N.Y.) combined to make 22 saves with Mohney stopping 15 Leopard attempts and Miller saving seven Colonel attempts.
Wentworth got on the board at the 16:53 mark of the second stanza as Diamond slid a pass to senior Andrew Yarber, who tallied his eighth marker of the season with a power-play goal. Despite holding a 17-10 shot advantage in the second period, Curry would not score and the Black & Gold held a one-goal edge after two periods.
The Colonels wasted little time getting the equalizer in the third, however, as sophomore Brandon Gilmore (Quincy, Mass.) scored from senior Brad Deveraux (Duxbury, Mass.) and freshman Jake Heisinger (Winnipeg, Man.) just 1:23 into the period. The game would remain tied until Yarber set up Diamond at 14:24 for what would be the game-winning goal.
A late Wentworth penalty put Curry on the power play and, for the final 14 seconds of the man-advantage, the Colonels had a six-on-four situation when Mohney was pulled for an extra attacker. However, the hosts were unable to put a shot on net during this time and the Leopards held on for the win.
Miller made 31 saves to pick up his second straight win. Mohney made 35 saves as Wentworth held a 37-32 shot advantage. The Leopards were 1-for-4 on the power play and successfully killed off all four shorthanded situations.
Wentworth closes out the regular season on Saturday at Suffolk and a Leopard win over the Rams would secure a bye in the first round of the upcoming ECAC Northeast Tournament. Curry hosts Becker, also on Saturday.
