MILTON, Mass.- Curry College defeated Johnson & Wales University, 3-1 in men's ice hockey action on Thursday night in Milton, Mass. The Colonels improve to 9-7-2 overall and 5-1-1 in ECAC Northeast, while the Wildcats fall to 8-9-1 and 5-2 in ECAC Northeast.
The Colonels scored three unanswered goals in the third period for the 3-1 victory. With the win, Curry takes over first place in the ECAC Northeast conference, previously held by the Wildcats.
First period went scoreless with Johnson & Wales outshooting Curry 18-15. The Colonels sophomore goaltender Travis Owens (Burbank, CA) made some big stops towards the end of period to keep the game tied at zero a piece.
The Wildcats were the first to get on the board at 11:04 of the second frame. Sophomore Connor Hendry (Calgary, Alberta) was called at 9:45 for slashing to give Johnson & Wales a power-play. Junior Jeremiah Ketts (Foristell, IL) won the face-off and saw sophomore Erick Vos (Kalamazoo, MI) open in front of the net. Ketts sent the pass and Vos tipped it in for the first goal of the night. Both teams had plenty of scoring opportunities with Curry taking 20 shots and Johnson & Wales 11. The Wildcat’s sophomore goaltender Matt Cooper (Perrysburg, OH) made 20 stops to hold his team’s 1-0 lead and finish out the period.
At 8:22 of the third, junior Ryan Barlock (Niles, IL) scored a short-handed goal to tie the game. Sophomores Casey Brugman (Winthrop, MA) and George Isham (Lake Bluff, IL) were credited with the assists. Just two and half minutes later, junior Payden Benning (Estevan, SK) scored the game-winner on a power-play goal. The Wildcats were called for roughing and just 33 seconds into the man-up situation, Benning received a pass from Brugman and one-timed the puck into the back of the net. The Colonels would score an insurance goal late in the period from junior Christopher Atkinson (Sparta, NJ). Hendry earned his second assist of the night and freshman Michael Lopez (Newton, MA) got his first.
The Colonels finished with a total of 47 shots and the Wildcats 41.
Johnson and Wales’s Cooper made 44 total saves in net for the loss. Curry’s goaltender Owens made 40 saves for the win.
Curry's next game is away at Becker College on January 29 at 3:30 p.m. Johnson & Wales hosts Suffolk University on Sunday, January 30 for a 3:05 p.m. start.
