Box Score BOSTON, Mass. (November 13, 2021) – The Western New England University men's ice hockey team won their first conference game of the season, taking down the hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology by a final score of 4-3 in overtime. Lliam Christiano scored a goal and added an assist in the Golden Bears win while Sam Mitchell scored the game winning tally in the overtime frame.
Records:
- Western New England: 2-2 (1-2 CCC)
- Wentworth: 1-3-1 (0-2-1 CCC)
How it Happened:
After a quick moving first period, the Golden Bears were awarded with a powerplay late in the period and put together the game's first goal. After the puck was moved to Jordan Giacomin, the Golden Bears would see Lliam Christiano send the puck to Kyle Knight who was able to tuck the puck into the back of the net to give Western New England the 1-0 lead with just 16 seconds to play in the period. The Golden Bears took ten first period shots while Wentworth came away with eight first period saves, all taken in by Colten Lancaster.
The Golden Bears would tally early in the second period to grab their first two goal lead since opening night when Shane Miller was able to find Christiano who took a shot past GK Will Oliver to give WNE the 2-0 lead. The second period would continue with Wentworth looking to seize momentum after surrendering the first two goals of the game and that is exactly what they did. Kevin Obssuth and Guillaume Bose would set up a tally from Sean Brown who scored his first collegiate goal as a member of the Leopards to cut the Golden Bears lead in half. Brown would again find the back of the net with 21 seconds to play in the period to even the score at two. Brown took a pass from teammate Will O'Brien and scored the second Wentworth goal to go into the deciding period all knotted at two.
The two teams would exchange third period as Wentworth would take the 4-3 edge just two minutes into the third period when Josh Faussett found the scoresheet for the first time in the contest as he was assisted by Jake McKenelley to give the Leopards the one goal lead. Lancaster would make three saves in the period while the Golden Bears pressured to find the game tying goal. The Golden Bears would be awarded with a late powerplay with under five minutes to play, though they would be unable to find a tally.
With just over a minute to play in the third period, Western New England would eventually break through on their 15thshot of the period as Kyle Knight would find the back of the net to even the score. After Demitrios Stefanou would take a slapshot from the point, the Golden Bears would get in on the attack as Miller would get a touch on the puck before Knight was able to find twine for the second time in the contest to level the score at four and take the game into the overtime session.
In that overtime session, Western New England would see the hosting Leopards take the first three shots on goal in the frame though the Golden Bears would need just one to end the game. After the Leopards came in their offensive zone on an odd man rush, Jake McKenelley would send a pass across the goal mouth that was blocked down by Giacomin. The puck would lay flat in front of the goal for Lancaster to send a streaking Sam Mitchell who stepped into the offensive zone and ripped a shot up and over the glove of Will Oliver and into the net to win the game for Western New England.
Inside the Lines:
- Two Golden Bears saw multiple points in the winning effort with Lliam Christiano (1 G, 1A) and Kyle Knight (2 G) each coming up big for the Golden Bears.
- GK Colten Lancaster made 26 saves in the win on 29 shots faced.
- Western New England won 33 faceoffs with Demitrios Stefanou, Connor Geshan, and James Belleavoine all registering a 7/12 at the faceoff dot.
- Western New England out shot Wentworth 15-4 in the third period and 34-29 in the contest. WNE was 1/5 on the powerplay while Wentworth wasn't able to collect a powerplay goal on two attempts.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- Both teams will take to Olympia Ice Center tomorrow night at 6:00 pm for a rematch.
