EVERETT, Mass. – After a scoreless first two periods of play, the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team tallied three times in the final stanza as the Leopards shut out Western New England, 3-0, in an ECAC Northeast contest played at Allied Veterans Rink.
With the win the Leopards improve to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in league play while the Golden Bears fall to 0-3 (0-1).
Western New England had a 9-8 shot advantage in the first period, however were unable to get one past senior Joel Miller (Calgary, Alta.). Wentworth had one power play in the frame and nearly converted, however sophomore Jake McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) would put a shot just off the outside of the far post.
The second period saw Miller stop all 13 shots he face, while his counterpart, senior Austin Keiser (Darwoody, Ga.) made eight stops. Wentworth had three power plays in the period and put three shots on net during the extra-man advantage.
Midway through the third period Wentworth would get the only goal it would need when senior Mike Cox (Marlborough, Mass.) redirected a shot from sophomore Chris Sattler (East Longmeadow, Mass.), who was fed a pass from junior Jake Flynn (Lino Lakes, Minn.).
With 1:27 left in the contest, sophomore Ryan Sullivan (Whately, Mass.) fired a pass from the near face-off circle down low to junior Kyle Lebrun (Bridgewater, Mass.), who scored his first collegiate marker. The Leopards added an empty-net tally with 45 ticks left when Flynn gained control of the puck in the neutral zone, fed Cox, who set up Sattler to ice the game.
Miller picked up his second shutout of the season after making 30 saves. Keiser made 28 stops on the night. Wentworth had a 31-30 shot advantage, which included a 15-8 edge in the third period. The two teams combined to go 0-for-10 on the power play.
Wentworth hosts Johnson & Wales on Wednesday night at 7:30 (at Boston University), while Western New England hosts Suffolk on Thursday.
