WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 14, 2021) – The Western New England men's ice hockey team took down the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology for the second time in two nights, again defeating the visitors by a 4-3 final score. Shane Miller scored a goal for WNE and added three assists while Jordie Morgan's early third period tally proved to be the difference in the win. 

Records:

• Western New England: 3-2 (2-2 CCC)
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 1-4-1 (0-3-1 CCC)

How it Happened: 

Western New England would spark the only goal in the first period of play as the Golden bears and Leopards would trade shots on goal through the first 20 minutes of play. Midway through the period the Golden Bears would find themselves in the offensive end, looking to pick up where they left off yesterday in an OT win over the same Leopards. Billy Hefferele would take puck from Kyle Knight and send it back to the blue line where Shane Miller received the pass and took a heavy wrist shot that got past the Leopards goaltender and into the back of the net to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Miller tallies his first on the season and first as a Golden Bear to give WNE the early edge. Western New England took ten shots in the first period with Wentworth tallying nine. 

Wentworth would come out in the second period and grabbed the game's tying goal when Joey O'Leary notched a goal on a pass from Tyler Lapshanski. The Leopards would take a powerplay opportunity and take their first lead of the game when Chris Tamer tallied the powerplay chance from Kevin Obssuth and Josh Faussett to give the Leopards the lead. While it looked as though Wentworth took full momentum in the game, Western New England was able to draw back-to-back penalties and cash in on back-to-back chances. 

Sam Mitchell was able to gather the puck while Wentworth was two players down. Mitchell found an open Connor Geshan on the back post and sent a pass to the tape of Geshan who made no mistake with the puck to even the score again with under six minutes to play in the period. Just 24 seconds after the tally from Geshan, WNE would seize another opportunity as Mitchell would grab a goal to give WNE the 3-2 lead. Kyle Knight would move the puck to Miller who then put the puck on the tape of Mitchell who scored the third tally of the game for the Golden Bears and final goal of the period. The Golden Bears took eight shots to Wentworth's 12 in the period. Wentworth took three penalties, two that costed them goals. 

Western New England extended their single goal lead in the third period as Marko Bohatiuk sent a pass to Jordie Morgan, who was able to catch Wentworth on a line change and take a shot up and over the glove of Connor Cabo and into the net to give the Golden Bears a two-goal lead. Just seven minutes after the Morgan tally, Joey O'Leary would score his second of the game to push the Leopards closer to tying the game again. Wentworth would push in the final five minutes of the game after they were awarded with a late powerplay, though the Western New England defense came up strong and preserved the victory, the second straight over Wentworth by a final score of 4-3. 

Inside the Crease: 

• Shane Miller recorded a goal and three assists for the Golden Bears in the win. Miller has now collected seven points on the season for Western New England, a team high. 
• Goalkeeper Colten Lancaster made 32 saves on 35 shots on goal for WNE. Lancaster now has 175 saves through five games this season, supporting a 2.99 GAA and a .921 save percentage. 
• Wentworth outshot the Golden Bears 35-23 in the contest, including 14-5 in the third period. The Leopards went 1/6 on the powerplay while the Golden Bears finished 2/7. 
• The Leopards used two goalkeepers in the contest, with Connor Carbo giving up the fourth goal of the game, suffering the loss. 
• Lliam Christiano lost just one faceoff on 13 attempts while the Golden Bears won 33/60 in the game. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England hosts Endicott College on Thursday, November 18 at 2:00 pm from Olympia Ice Center. 
• Wentworth hosts Salve Regina University on Friday, November 19 at 7:00 pm.