Carbo's 51 Saves Lifts Hockey to First Round Win over Curry

CANTON, Mass. – Freshman Connor Carbo (Berlin, Vt.) turned aside 51 shots, including two in the final 88 seconds when his team was shorthanded, and freshmen Sam Milnes (Middletown, R.I.) and Kasey O'Brien (Stoneham, Mass.) each tallied goals as the sixth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team knocked off third-seeded Curry, 2-1, in the opening round of the 2020 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament.

THE BASICS:

RECORDS:  WIT (8-14-3); CC (17-6-3)
SHOTS:  WIT 24; CC 52
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  WIT 6/20; CC 3/14
POWER PLAYS:  WIT 1/2; CC 0/5
GOALIE SAVES:  WIT – Connor Carbo, 51; CC – Justin Ketola, 22

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Curry had control in the first period, putting 24 shots on net while allowing just four. However, Carbo made big save after big save to keep the hosts off the scoreboard. Five of the Colonels' shots came on their lone power play of the frame.
• At the 4:36 mark of the second period, Wentworth finally broke through when Milnes scored on the power play from sophomores Joey O'Leary (Boston, Mass.) and Jake McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.). Just over three minutes later, O'Brien gave the Black & Gold a 2-0 lead when he scored from classmates Matt Ernster (Barrington, R.I.) and Carter Stephenson (West Vancouver, B.C.). The officials initially waved off the goal, saying the puck hadn't crossed the line, however, after conferring with the goal judge during the next stoppage, the goal counted. Curry cut the lead to 2-1 at the 12:48 mark of the period when junior Matthew Henderson (Scarborough, Maine) put home a rebound.
• The third period saw Curry continue to press in search of the tying goal, but Carbo continued to come up big. With 2:16 remaining, senior Justin Ketola (Cloquet, Minn.) was pulled for an extra attacker, and, with 1:50 left, a penalty on the Leopards made it a 6-on-4 situation. The Colonels put a pair of shots on net during this time but Carbo made his ninth and 10th saves of the period. With the puck out of the zone, Curry was called for icing with two seconds left, bringing the faceoff down to the other end of the ice and sealing the win for Wentworth.
• Carbo's 51 stops were the second-most he's made this season, having turned aside 56 in a 6-3 loss to Curry on January 24. Ketola finished with 22 saves as Curry had a 52-24 shot advantage.
• As a team Wentworth blocked 23 shots with six coming from senior Drew DiGeronimo (Fitchburg, Mass.) and four from classmate Liam McKay (Calgary, Alta.)

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 47th all-time meeting between the two programs with Curry holding a 24-18-5 advantage. This was the first postseason meeting between the teams since 2015 with Wentworth leading those meetings, 5-2. The win snapped a seven-game winning and 10-game unbeaten (9-0-1) streak in the series for Curry as the Leopards won for the first time since November 5, 2015.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth (8-15-3) heads to top-seeded and sixth-ranked University of New England for a CCC semifinal on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.

For the latest on Wentworth Athletics, follow the Leopards via social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Wentworth Leopards "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.