WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Griffin Clark leveled the playing field with 1:52 left in regulation and Suffolk men's hockey held the Golden Bears of Western New England in overtime to force the 1-1 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) draw Friday night at the Olympia Ice Center. Cole Scott was the only player to produce a goal in the three-round shootout to send the Rams into the semester break with an extra point in the league standings. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Western New England 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-7-2, 1-7-1 CCC) | Western New England (5-6-1, 3-5-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk faced a one-goal hole late in the third period. When time winded down, Scott centered a pass in transition at just the right moment as Clark's stick met it for a quick shot that flew past Colten Lancaster to level the playing field with 1:52 remaining in regulation. 

In the 3-on-3 overtime, Suffolk saw three changes and WNE put two attempts on targets, but both goalies were up to the test, which forced the draw, and turned the game to a shootout.   

Cole, Suffolk's second shooter, snuck in his shot to give the Rams the upper hand. Cal Wilcox did his job denying all three of the Golden Bears shots, to send Suffolk higher in the league standings. 

The early deficit came after Jason Diamond put the Golden Bears on the board 8:20 into the contest. From the top of the right face-off dot, Demitrios Stefanous found Billy Hefferle in front of Wilcox on the right. Hefferle slipped the puck through Wilcox and a Rams' defender to Diamond on the opposite side of the cage, who tapped the puck past the goal line.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Wilcox registered 33 saves. 
• Lancaster logged 35 stops. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Griffin scored Suffolk's lone goal. 
• Scott and Thomas Dempsey produced one goal apiece. 
• Suffolk held a 36-34 edge in shots. 
• The Rams went 35-26 in face-offs.  

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams went into overtime for the second time this season.
• Suffolk is 0-0-2 when exceeding regulation in the Shawn McEachern era. 
• Suffolk moved to 22-13-5 all-time against Western New England. 
• The blue-and-gold is unbeaten in six in a row against the Golden Bears. 
• The Rams and Golden Bears went into overtime for the first time since Jan. 26, 2022, a 4-4 draw. 
• The last three overtime outings between Suffolk and WNE have ended in stalemates. 
• Suffolk has gone into a CCC shootout versus WNE twice. The Rams have won both shootouts against the Golden Bears. 
• The Rams went into a CCC shootout for the fifth time in program history, its first since Feb. 5, 2022 versus Salve Regina. 
• The blue-and-gold won a CCC shootout for the first time since a 2-0 shootout decision at Western New England Jan. 26, 2022. 
• Suffolk is now 3-2 in a CCC shootout in program history. 
• Suffolk went to a shootout for the first time under McEachern's guidance. 
• Clark chipped in his second game-tying goal of the season. 
• Scott produced his first collegiate assist. 
• Dempsey notched his first collegiate point, an assist. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will be away from action until the New Year when it skates against Franklin Pierce Saturday, Jan. 8 at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink at 6:50 p.m.