BIDDEFORD, Maine – The ninth-ranked University of New England ice hockey team scored a pair of goals in a span of 41 seconds in the second period to erase a one-goal deficit and defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2-1, in Commonwealth Coast Conference action.

Despite the loss, the Leopards clinched a berth in the CCC Tournament for the third consecutive season as Wentworth will be the number six seed. The Black & Gold locked up the playoff berth when Becker was defeated by Endicott, 5-1, earlier in the day.

THE BASICS:

RECORDS:  WIT (7-14-3, 3-11-3 CCC); UNE (17-4-3, 13-2-2 CCC)
SHOTS:  WIT 30; UNE 39
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  WIT 7/14; UNE 8/16
POWER PLAYS:  WIT 0-7; UNE 0-5
GOALIE SAVES:  WIT – Connor Carbo, 37; UNE – Ben Churchfield, 29

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Despite a scoreless first period, both teams had scoring chances. UNE held a 14-9 shot advantage, with four of those shots coming on the Nor'Easters lone power play of the frame. Wentworth had three power play chances in the period, however, was only able to put two shots on net.
• Sophomore Jake McKenelley (Middleton, Mass.) picked up his 10th goal of the season and gave the Leopards a 1-0 lead when he blocked a shot attempt just inside the blue line, gained possession of the puck and went in alone at 1:19 to give the Black & Gold a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Liam Darcy (Waterboro, Maine) evened the score evened the score at the 12:26 mark before junior Brett Mecrones (Medford, Mass.) put the Nor'Easters ahead at the 13:07 mark.
• While the third period was scoreless, Wentworth had a 13-9 shot advantage and had a 5-on-3 power play advantage. With 1:33 left and the Leopards on their fourth power play of the period, freshman Connor Carbo (Berlin, Vt.) was pulled for an extra attacker. The Leopards controlled the puck inside the zone but were unable to get the equalizer.
• Junior Ben Churchfield (Newcastle, England) made 29 saves for UNE while Carbo turned aside 37 shots for the Leopards.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 11th all-time meeting between the two programs with UNE holding a 9-1-1 series advantage.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth concludes the regular season tomorrow at home against Salve Regina, beginning at 4:00 p.m.

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