Oliver Leads Hockey to Even Score Against Salve Regina

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Junior Will Oliver (Chesterfield, Mo.) stood tall between the pipes as the Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team tied the Seahawks of Salve Regina in Commonwealth Coast Conference play on Saturday night. Finishing in a 3-3 score, the Leopards grabbed an extra point with a 2-1 advantage in the shootout.

THE BASICS:

RECORDS:  SRU:  3-0-1, 3-0-1 CCC; WIT:  1-4-1, 0-3-1 CCC
SHOTS:  SRU:  41; WIT:  16
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  SRU:  3/6; WIT: 3/6
POWER PLAYS:  SRU:  0-3; WIT:  1-3
GOALIE SAVES:  SRU: Levi Mitchell, 13; WIT:  Will Oliver, 38

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Offensive play took a while to settle into the game for the Leopards, but the Seahawks came out with cylinders churning. Salve Regina ripped two shots on goal towards junior Will Oliver (Chesterfield, Mo.) until a shot from freshman Matthew Brunton (Calgary, Atla.) beat the goalkeeper to put the Seahawks ahead 1-0 at the 5:03 mark of the first frame.
• Just over two minutes later, senior Mitch Walinski (Lincoln, R.I.) beat Oliver to put the hosts ahead 2-0. A lot of shots filled the rest of the period as the Seahawks outshot the Leopards 13-1.
• The Black and Gold wasted no time responding to the hosts' strong first period as freshman Cole Paredes (Norwalk, Conn.) scored his first career goal just 45 seconds into the second.
• The push continued as sophomore Mitch McGinn (Salem, N.H.) scored his first goal of the season just under five minutes into the second, tying the score at two apiece.
• Just under two minutes later, freshman Travis Marchant (Londonderry, N.H.) scored his first collegiate goal on the power play to put the Leopards ahead 3-2.
• Salve Regina battled back with a ton of offensive opportunities, leading to a goal for sophomore Damon Zimmer (Camrose, Atla.) with just over three minutes left in the second to tie the game at 3-3.
• Oliver made brilliant saves all throughout the third period to keep the game tied as the Seahawks outshot Wentworth 15-5 in the period. The game headed to overtime but again, Oliver played well to bring the game to a shootout to decide the winner of final point.
• The two teams traded goals to start the shootout and a goal from sophomore Jacob Shankar (Johnstown, Ont.) in the second round stood as the last to be scored, awarding the Leopards an extra point in the CCC standings.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 44th all-time meeting between the two teams. Wentworth leads the all-time series, 29-11-4.

NEXT UP:

• The Leopards play Nichols on the road in a CCC matchup on Friday night.

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.