Four Golden Bears Record Two Points Each in 5-1 Win over Wentworth

BOSTON, Mass. (January 21, 2023) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team rebounded from their 7-4 loss less than 24 hours ago, defeating the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology by a final score of 5-1 on Saturday afternoon. 

Records:

• Western New England: 6-10-1, 4-8-1 CCC
• Wentworth Institute: 4-12-1, 2-10-1 CCC

How it Happened:
The game began similarly to the one at the Olympia Ice Center less than 24 hours ago with a Golden Bears goal in the opening minutes. Western New England's Demitrios Stefanou recorded his first goal of the season on assists from Matt Dougherty and Sam Mitchell to give the Golden Bears an early 1-0 lead at just the 17:20 mark on the opening frame. The Golden Bears would refuse to let the Leopards retaliate with a goal of their own and, in fact, scored the next goal of the game when Matt Dougherty found the back of the net on assists from John D'Aniello and Kyle Knight to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead with seven minutes of elapsed time gone by. WNE would hold their two-goal lead after one period of play, outshooting Wentworth 8-7 in the period. 

Neither team could find goal for the majority of the second period with Wentworth grabbing two chances on the powerplay while Western New England earned one, though neither the Golden Bears nor Leopards would capitalize on their chance. With just two seconds to play in the period, Western New England's Jason Diamond would celebrate for a goal, beating the buzzer for WNE to give the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead. Demitrios Stefanou and Billy Hefferle grabbed assists for WNE on the goal as Wentworth would come away with the 13-8 shots advantage in the period, though Colten Lancaster would catch them all, recording all 20 saves through 40 minutes. 

Just 20 seconds into the third period, Wentworth would open their scoring when Nikolas Sombrowski would score his second goal on WNE on the season. Ian Worthley and Sean Healy picked up assists for the Leopards as WIT would battle, looking to get back in the contest. With back and forth play through the midway point of the period into the final minutes of the game, Wentworth would be forced to pull their goalkeeper, looking for two goals to tie the game. WNE would refuse to let WIT back into the game, sealing the deal with two empty-net goals to finish off the Leopards. Justin Sullivan would record the Golden Bears first empty-net goal on an assisted mark, while Lukas Radina would celebrate his first goal with the Golden Bears on assists from Jason Diamond and Billy Hefferle, giving WNE the 5-1 win on the road. 

In Between the Pipes:

• Four Golden Bears recorded at least two points as Billy Hefferle (2 A), Demitrios Stefanou (1 G, 1 A), Jason Diamond (1 G, 1 A), and Matt Dougherty (1 G, 1 A) all recorded points for WNE. 
• GK Colten Lancaster made 32 saves on 33 shots faced, earning his fifth victory of the season. 
• Neither team capitalized on the powerplay, with WNE going 0/2 and Wentworth 0/4. 
• Wentworth outshot Western New England 33-24 in the game, with WNE recording eight shots in every period. 
• Demitrios Stefanou shined in the faceoff circle, going 15/20. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England meets Suffolk University for a home and home series beginning on the road on Friday, January 26. 
• Wentworth trecks to UNE for the home and home series beginning on the same date.