Western New England Opens Second Semester with 2-2 Tie Against Worcester State

Pearl & Kleyman score for Golden Bears  

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 5, 2017) – The Western New England University ice hockey team opened its second semester schedule with a 2-2 tie against Worcester State University this evening in non-conference action at the Olympia Ice Center.

Top Performers
• Sophomore forwards Braedan Pearl (L'Orignal, Ont.) and David Kleyman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) both scored for Western New England, while sophomore goaltender Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) finished with 24 saves.

• Senior Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) and freshman Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) each found the back of the net for Worcester State late in the second period, and freshman netminder Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) stopped 27 shots.

Game Review
• Western New England successfully killed off Worcester State's first power play early in the first period, and the Golden Bears nearly scored a short-handed goal as sophomore CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) got behind the Lancer defense on a breakaway, but his shot hit the post.
• Totillo found himself on another short-handed breakaway just under three minutes into the second period, but this time he was brought down by a Worcester State defenseman and awarded a penalty shot. His subsequent attempt was saved by Lignelli as the game remained scoreless.
• Shortly after the penalty shot, the game was delayed for over a half hour due to ice conditions, and eventually moved to another ice surface within the Olympia.
• When the game resumed, Western New England finally broke through at the 11:04 mark of the second period as Totillo carried the puck behind the net and found Pearl on the doorstep of the goal to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead.
• Later in the period, however, Western New England was whistled for a pair of minor penalties on the same play, giving Worcester State a 5-on-3 power play. The Lancers took advantage of the opportunity, as Patullo netted the equalizer with 4:10 remaining in the period and Moran put the visitors ahead 71 seconds later.
• Kleyman scored his third goal of the season 3:40 into the third period to tie the contest, and Gollmer made a spectacular save with less than a minute remaining to send the game to overtime.
• Worcester State outshot Western New England 4-2 in the five-minute extra period, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.

Notes
• The Golden Bears outshot the Lancers 29-26 and held a 19-5 advantage in the second period.
• Worcester State owned a 39-36 edge in the faceoff circle.
• Western New England was unable to capitalize on its five power play chances.
• Senior captain Josh Twietmeyer (Weston, Fla.) led the Golden Bears with six shots, while Totillo and Kleyman had four each.

Up Next
Western New England (4-7-2) plays the first of three consecutive road games next Monday at Framingham State, while Worcester State (3-6-3) returns home to host UMass Dartmouth on Sunday.