EVERETT, Mass. – Sophomore Adam Lane's (Sarnia, Ont.) power-play goal at 16:10 of the second period proved to be the game winner as the Wentworth Institute of technology ice hockey team held on to defeat Framingham State, 4-3, in a non-conference contest Saturday afternoon at Allied Veterans Rink.
Winners of two straight games for the first time this season the Leopards close the week on a three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) and improve to 4-10-1 on the season while the Rams fall to 1-13-0 after the loss.
Freshman CJ Grinnell (Burlington, Mass.) wasted little time getting the hosts on the board as he scored just 49 seconds into the contest from junior Erik Andersson (Madison, N.J.) and sophomore Ethan Weiss (Troy, Mich.). However, the lead would not last long as just 26 seconds later junior Chris Andre (New Bedford, Mass.) scored from classmate Tyler Collacchio (Bellingham, Mass.).
Wentworth nearly went ahead 2-1 at the 5:42 mark of the period when sophomore Sam Levin (Simsbury, Conn.) was awarded a penalty shot after a hooking penalty. However, his bid was denied by freshman Greg Harney (East Haven, Conn.).
The score remained tied until the Leopards scored a pair of goals in less than a minute. Junior Jake McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) tallied a power-play goal – his fifth marker of the week – from Grinnell and sophomore Angus Johnston (Calgary, Alta.) to make it 2-1 at 13:48. At 14:46, senior Jake Flynn (Lino Lakes, Minn.) made it a 3-1 game when he scored from Lane.
Framingham State closed the gap to 3-2 at the 11:06 mark of the second period as senior Vaughn Guetens (Cheshire, Conn.) scored from Andre. At 16:10 Levin would set up Lane on the power play for what would prove to be the game-winner.
The Rams made it a one-goal game at 11:39 of the third period when sophomore Brendan Pascarella (Sloatsburg, N.Y.) and freshman Ryan Donohue (Natick, Mass.) set up freshman Parker Cowand (Dallas, Texas). Harney was pulled twice late in the game for an extra attacker, however Framingham State was unable to get the equalizer.
Freshman Kenny Graham (Milton, Mass.) made 16 saves to even his record at 3-3 on the season. Harney stopped 36 shots as Wentworth had a 40-19 shot advantage for the game.
The Leopards return to Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Thursday night, hosting the University of New England. That same night the Rams travel to Plymouth State for a MASCAC contest.
