Wentworth Falls to Bowdoin, 5-3

(Courtesy of Bowdoin Sports Information)

BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's ice hockey team opened its second semester with a 5-3 victory over Wentworth on Tuesday evening at Sidney J. Watson Arena. The Polar Bears, ranked fourth in the latest USCHO.com Division III poll, improve to 7-1-0 with the victory while the Leopards fall to 6-5-2 overall.

Kyle Shearer-Hardy, Daniel Weiniger and Harry Matheson all had a goal and an assist for the hosts while Craig Cardone (Westford, Mass.) had a goal and a helper for Wentworth.

Bowdoin got on the board first, taking advantage of a turnover in the Wentworth zone. The puck was thrown into the crease where Jeff Fanning finished off a scramble in front by knocking home the loose puck on the back post at 13:28. The Polar Bears doubled their lead two minutes later when a shorthanded break resulted in a 2-on-1 for Bowdoin as Colin Downey fed Daniel Weiniger with a cross-ice pass that was deposited top-shelf at 15:56. The Leopards were able to cut into the lead late in the period when Cameron Gibson (Valencia, Calif.) banged home a rebound with 1:37 left to make it 2-1 at the first intermission.

The Polar Bears added to their lead with a pair of power play goals during a bizarre second period that featured a 10-minute delay due to a false fire alarm. Shortly after the interruption, Kyle Shearer-Hardy took a pass from Jay Livermore and ripped a slap shot that tucked under the post at 3:37. Graham Sisson made it 4-1 late in the frame when he took a pass from Weiniger on the doorstep and put home a goal from just outside the crease at 18:33.

Harry Matheson's goal at 7:35 of the third period upped Bowdoin's lead to 5-1 before a pair of late scores by Wentworth's Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, Calif.) and Craig Cardone trimmed the final deficit to 5-3.

Steve Messina made 23 saves for Bowdoin, who went 2-5 on the power play, while Chris Azzano(Oshawa, Ont.)  made 25 saves for the Leopards, who were held scoreless in four power play chances. The game was the fourth meeting all-time between the schools and the first since 2001. Bowdoin owns a 4-0 record against Wentworth in the series history.