BOSTON, Mass. - Senior Sean McLaughlin's (North Billerica, Mass.) goal 4:40 into the third period proved to be the equalizer and lifted Wentworth to a 5-5 ECAC Northeast men's ice hockey overtime tie with Suffolk Saturday evening at Steriti Rink.
McLaughlin's marker enabled the visiting Leopards (10-11-3, 5-6-2) to come back from their third one goal deficit of the contest, as the host Rams (10-11-3, 4-6-2) grabbed a 1-0 advantage midway the opening period on senior Tim Sprague's (Plymouth, Mass.) power play tally. Freshman Jake McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) began a wild second period by giving Wentworth a 2-1 lead with a pair of power play goals that came on a major-man advantage in just a 45 second span, but sophomore Justin Selep (Pittsburgh, Pa.) evened matters with the first of two Suffolk shorthanded goals in the frame at the 5:47 mark.
Sophomore Brett Lawson's (Milford, Mass.) power play marker just over the midway point of the contest gave the Rams a 3-2 cushion, but tallies off the sticks of freshmen Brian Farkas (Shoreline, Wash.) and Erik Andersson (Madison, N.J.) in a 1:07 span enabled the Leopards to regain the lead at 4-3. Sprague's shorthanded breakaway just over two minutes later evened matters once again, and sophomore Simon Leahy's (Milwaukee, Wis.) power play goal with 3:41 to play in the period staked Suffolk to a 5-4 lead heading into the final stanza, setting up McLaughlin's heroics.
Sprague added an assist to go with his two goals to finish with three points in the draw for Suffolk, which also received a marker and helper from Selep as well as single assists off the sticks of junior Connor McCarthy (Hanover, Mass.) and sophomore Stanton Turner (San Francisco, Calif.). McLaughlin also collected an assist to go with his goal on the night for Wentworth, which received three helpers from senior Mike Domsodi (Kirkland, Que.) as well as single assists off the sticks of seniors Michael Heffner (Lloydminster, Sask.) and Kevin Crowe (Galloway, N.J.), sophomores Joe Mottiqua (Cecil, Pa.) and Kyle Lebrun (Bridgewater, Mass.) and freshman Chris Sattler (East Longmeadow, Mass.).
Junior Brandon Smolarek (Chesterfield, Mass.) made 33 saves in goal on the night for Suffolk, including 23 stops in the second and third period alone, while junior Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.) made 25 stops in the draw for Wentworth. The Leopards outshot the Rams by a 38-30 margin in a game that saw six power play goals and two shorthanded tallies, as the first 40 minutes of action saw the teams play at even strength for just a little over 10 minutes.
Suffolk and Wentworth will meet again tomorrow evening in an ECAC Northeast clash at Veterans Memorial Rink in Everett, Mass. that faces off at 6:30 p.m. The Rams hold the sixth and final conference playoff spot heading into the contest, as the Leopards hold a two-point edge in fifth place.
