BIDDEFORD, Maine – Senior Nate Chase (Plainfield, Ill.) scored the go-ahead goal with just over three minutes remaining in the second period and freshman Connor Carbo (Berlin, Vt.) made 26 saves, including one near the end of regulation, as the sixth-seeded Wentworth Institute of Technology ice hockey team upended top-seeded and seventh-ranked University of New England in a semifinal round game of the 2020 Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament Saturday night in Biddeford, Maine.

Chase, who also assisted on Wentworth's first goal, helped the Leopards advance to their first-ever CCC final in the four years the league has sponsored men's ice hockey as a championship sport. It will be the Black & Gold's 12th overall championship game appearance, having made 11 appearances in the final as a member of the ECAC Northeast. Wentworth (9-14-3) will travel to second-seeded Endicott (21-5-0) on Saturday, March 7, at 3:00 p.m. The winner of this game will be the 2020 CCC Champion and earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament.

THE BASICS:

RECORDS:  WIT (9-14-3); UNE (18-5-3)
SHOTS:  WIT 22; UNE 27
PENALTIES/MINUTES:  WIT 1/2; UNE 3/6
POWER PLAYS:  WIT 1-3; UNE 0-1
GOALIE SAVES:  WIT – Connor Carbo, 26; UNE – Ben Churchfield, 20

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Carbo, fresh off his 51-save performance in Wednesday's 2-1 win over Curry, kept the hosts off the board with 13 saves in the first period, including many from close range. Just over the midway point of the period, senior Adam Tracey (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) redirected a junior Dante Flori (Watertown, Mass.) shot past junior Ben Churchfield (Newcastle, England), with Chase getting the secondary assist on Tracey's 10th marker of the season, giving the Leopards a 1-0 lead. A penalty-free opening frame saw UNE hold a 13-8 shot advantage.
• The Nor'Easters wasted little time tying the game in the second period as sophomore Austin Morgan (Novi, Mich.) was set up by sophomore Justin Dixon (Sunnyville, Calif.) and junior Chris Jones (Seattle, Wash.) at 1:14 of the second period. With the Leopards on their first and only power play of the period, Chase was fed a pass in the slot from senior Georgy Gorodetsky (Yekaterinburg, Russia) and beat Churchfield. Junior Jake Hallisey (Quincy, Mass.) also assisted on Chase's ninth goal of the season, coming at 16:58. Wentworth had a 10-8 shot advantage in the second period.
• With time winding down in the third period, Churchfield was pulled for an extra attacker until a faceoff was brought back towards the UNE zone. At the 18:37 mark, he was pulled for the remainder of the game and the Nor'Easters had three shot attempts – Carbo made a save, Hallisey blocked a shot, and a shot went just wide as time expired.
• Carbo improves to 4-5-1 in his 10 games since joining the Leopards in January. Churchfield made 20 saves as the Nor'Easters had a 27-22 shot advantage.

NOTEWORTHY:

• Tonight marked the first time the Leopards had defeated a top 10 opponent since a 5-2 win over eighth-ranked UMass Dartmouth on February 6, 2007.
• In Wentworth's 11 previous trips to the conference championship game, the Leopards are 6-5, having won the former ECAC Northeast in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, and 2013. The Black & Gold most recently made a championship game appearance in 2014 and also appeared in 2001, 2007, 2009, and 2011.

SERIES NOTES:

• Tonight marked the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs with UNE holding a 9-2-1 series advantage. The Wentworth win snaps a three-game UNE win streak and gives the Leopards their first-ever win in Biddeford. In the postseason, this marked the third straight season the two teams have squared off. UNE leads 2-1.

NEXT UP:

• While Wentworth travels to Endicott in search of its first conference championship since 2013, UNE should be in strong contention for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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