Golden Bears Clinch Berth in CCC Tournament with 7-2 Win at Wentworth in Regular Season Finale

Western New England earns eighth seed, will travel to Endicott on Saturday

EVERETT, Mass. (February 21, 2017) – The Western New England University ice hockey team clinched a berth in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Tournament with a 7-2 victory over the Wentworth Institute of Technology this evening in the regular season finale for both teams at Allied Veterans Memorial Rink.

With the win, Western New England (8-15-2, 5-12-1 CCC) earns the eighth seed in the CCC Tournament, and the Golden Bears will travel to Beverly, Mass. to take on top-seeded Endicott College on Saturday at 2:50 p.m. Wentworth's season comes to a close at 5-17-3 and 3-13-2 in CCC play.

Top Performers
• Sophomore defenseman Brian Hurley (Baldwin, N.Y.) fueled Western New England's seven goal outburst, scoring his first two goals of the season.
• Senior captain Josh Twietmeyer (Weston, Fla.) and sophomore forward David Kleyman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also posted multi-point performances with one goal and one assist each.
• Sophomore goaltender Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) finished with 43 saves on 45 shots. 

• Senior forward Kyle LeBrun (Bridgewater, Mass.) and sophomore forward Angus Johnston (Calgary, Alta.) both found the back of the net for the Leopards.

Game Review
• Hurley got the Golden Bears on the board at the 15:49 mark of the first period, and Western New England led by the same margin after 20 minutes of play.
• Wentworth utilized a power play opportunity to tie the score 6:23 into the second period, as LeBrun netted his fourth of the season.
• With the score still tied 1-1 late in the period, Western New England used an offensive outburst to take control of the contest. Hurley netted the go-ahead goal at the 18:03 mark, and junior David DiSchiavi (Etobicoke, Ont.) made it 3-1 just 51 seconds later. Kleyman capped the three-goal surge on a feed from Twietmeyer with 18 seconds remaining in the period as Western New England opened up a 4-1 lead heading into the final frame.
• Sophomore forward Matt O'Dea (Orland Park, Ill.) made it four unanswered goals for the Golden Bears early in the third period, before Johnston found the back of the net with 8:22 remaining.
• Twietmeyer buried an empty net goal at the 18:10 mark, and sophomore Connor Eckenrod (Ebensburg, Pa.) capped the scoring 33 seconds later.

Notes
• Western New England's seven goals are its most this season.
• The Leopards outshot the Golden Bears 45-37.
• Western New England finished in a three-way tie for 8^th place in the CCC standings, but earned the final seed with a tiebreaker over Suffolk.