MILTON, Mass. – Using a pair of goals in a span of 3:53 late in the first period, the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team battled back to earn a 3-3 tie against Curry in a Commonwealth Coast Conference context Thursday night at the Max Ulin Rink.
Earning its second tie in their last three contests, the Leopards stand at 4-11-3 overall and 2-7-1 in CCC play while the Colonels are 9-7-2 (6-3-2). Wentworth is 2-1-3 in second semester play.
In what looked to be a high-scoring affair, all six goals were scored in the opening period. Curry notched the game's first goal, coming 2:56 into the contest when senior Justin Nice (Aurora, Ontario) got the Colonels on the board when fired a slap shot over the shoulder of Leopard freshman netminder Kenny Graham (Milton, Mass.). Nice was setup by freshman Anthony Trujillo (Toronto, Ont.) and senior Ellery O'Hara (Toronto, Ont.). The Colonels took their first two-goal lead of the contest nearly five minutes later when senior Tyler Vankleef (Dundas, Ont.) found classmate Jake Heisinger (Winnipeg, Man.) open in front of the net who then one-timed it past the glove of Graham. Sophomore Lionel Mauron (Lausanne, Switzerland) sent Vankleef the pass off a face-off win to earn the second assist.
Wentworth answered just 31 seconds later to cut the deficit in half. The Leopards won the face-off at center ice and wasted no time to tally their first of the game. Sophomore Tim Shea (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) ripped a wrist shot past Curry's senior netminder Brett Sinclair (St. Catherines, Ontario) off assists from junior Chris Sattler (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and freshman Nate Chase (Plainfield, Ill.).
Just under five minutes later Curry brought its lead back to two goals when junior Ryan Fitzgerald (Cary, N.C.) scored from freshman Alex Mono (Las Vegas, Nevada).
The Leopards' comeback began at 14:17 as senior Kyle LeBrun (Bridgewater, Mass.) beat Sinclair off passes from classmate Jake Flynn (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and sophomore Paul Filippone (Cranston, R.I.). With 1:51 left in the frame, junior Jake McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) scored from sophomores Angus Johnston (Calgary, Alta.) and Sean Brennan (Stony Point, N.Y.).
Both teams had chances throughout the remainder of regulation and overtime, however Graham and Sinclair both made key saves to keep it a tie game. Wentworth was on a power play for the final 1:35 of regulation and the first 25 ticks of overtime but could not convert.
Graham made 30 saves while Sinclair made 18 stops. Curry had a 33-21 shot advantage. Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play.
Wentworth hosts Johnson & Wales Saturday.
of junior Ryan Fitzgerald (Cary, N.C.) at 13:09. Freshman Alex Mono (Las Vegas, Nevada) was credited with the assist.
