
EAST BOSTON – Three Rams scored to lead Suffolk men's hockey to its third straight win, a 3-2 decision over Conference of New England counterpart Wentworth Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Wentworth 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (11-10-2, 6-9-1 CNE) | Wentworth (6-15-2, 4-11-1 CNE)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wentworth struck first 3:27 into the action as Nikolas Sombrowski snuck one by CJ Hapward.
The Rams leveled the playing field just over four minutes later when Daniel McKiernan sniped a shot high. Josh Milso and Jack Kircher had a hand in the game-tying goal.
Suffolk gained its edge at the midway point of the first period. Out of a faceoff in the Rams' own zone, Kircher tipped the puck to Matt Pimental, who found a diving Gavin Havens in the neutral zone. Havens went for the 1-on-1 with Jack McGovern and scored to take the 2-1 advantage for the Rams with 9:37 left before the first intermission.
The teams traded goals in the second stanza. Nick Liotino lit the lamp two minutes in for Suffolk, while Ian Worthley chipped one away for Wentworth with 47 seconds left on the clock before the teams went into the locker room for the second time.
The score stayed there even with Wentworth having an empty net for the final two minutes of play as Suffolk's defense blocked a pair of shots and CJ Hapward saved two other attempts to lock up the victory.
NETMINDER NOTES
- Hapward had 35 saves in the victory.
- McGovern notched 36 saves in the victory.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Havens, Liotino and McKiernan scored one goal each for Suffolk.
- Kircher handed out a pair of assists.
- Milso, Pimental, Nolan Leonard and Thomas Dempsey notched one assist each.
- Suffolk held a narrow edge in shots, 39-37.
- The Leopards won the face-off battle, 40-29.
- Suffolk was not whistled for penalty.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk defeated Wentworth for the second straight meeting.
- The Rams are now 21-25-3 all-time against the Leopards.
- The blue-and-gold is now 8-2-1 in the last 11 battles versus WIT, all of which came in CNE play.
- Suffolk is now 6-2-0 against Wentworth in the Shawn McEachern era.
- Suffolk is 11-12-3 at home versus the Leopards.
- Havens has produced one point in the last three games. In that span he has one goal and two assists. He scored his fourth goal of the year.
- McKiernan racked up at least one point in the last two games. In that stretch he has two goals and one helper. He produced his fourth goal of the season.
- Kircher tallied a personal-best in points (2) and assists (2).
- Liotion stretched his point streak to three games. That stretch features two goals and one assist. He has two goals to his credit this campaign.
- Pimental has produced a point in all four games he has this season.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is set to host Western New England tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 15 at 4:50 p.m. at Porrazzo Rink.