Early Lead Holds Up for Wentworth in 3-2 Win over Western New England
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wentworth (7-11-3, 5-6-3 CCC) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
|
Western New Eng. (8-11-2, 3-10-1 CCC) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Kleyman & O'Dea score for Western New England
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (January 27, 2018) – The Western New England University ice hockey team was unable to overcome a three-goal deficit as the Golden Bears fell to the Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Olympia Ice Center.
Top Performers
• Juniors David Kleyman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Matt O'Dea (Orland Park, Ill.) both found the back of the net for the Golden Bears, while senior Matt Smethurst (Rexford, N.Y.) and juniors Steve Beck (Milton, N.Y.) and CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.) were credited with assists.
• After coming on in relief in the second period, sophomore goaltender Kyle Carducci (Hartford, Conn.) made 14 saves and didn't surrender a goal in over 33 minutes of action.
• Sophomores CJ Grinnell (Burlington, Mass.) and Connor Busch (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) led Wentworth with one goal and one assist each.
• Leopards senior netminder Ryan Hubbard (West Roxbury, Mass.) finished with 25 saves on 27 shots.
Game Review
Wentworth took advantage of a power play opportunity to open the scoring 13:05 into the contest, as junior defenseman Jonny Spada (Glen Rock, N.J.) set up sophomore forward Georgy Gorodetskii (Yekaterinburg, Russia) for his sixth goal of the season. Grinnell scored just 52 seconds later as the Leopards led 2-0 at the first intermission.
Wentworth extended its advantage to 3-0 on Busch's power play tally six minutes into the second period, but the Golden Bears broke through 46 seconds later when Kleyman scored on a feed from Totillo.
Western New England then cut its deficit to one 3:53 into the third period, as O'Dea netted his team-leading 16th goal of the season with assists from Smethurst and Beck. The Golden Bears were unable to secure a game-tying goal over the final 16 minutes of regulation, however, as Wentworth held on for the win.
Notes
• Wentworth capitalized on 2-of-5 power play chances, while Western New England went 0-for-3 with a man advantage.
• The Leopards outshot the Golden Bears 30-27, but WNE held a 35-30 edge in the faceoff circle.
• O'Dea has recorded a point in seven consecutive games and 13 of the last 14 overall.
Up Next
Western New England (8-11-2, 3-10-1 CCC) hosts Nichols next Friday night at 7 p.m., while Wentworth (7-11-3, 5-6-3 CCC) takes on Becker.
