MILTON, Mass.- Curry College lost to Wentworth 7-2, in men's ice hockey action on Thursday afternoon in Milton, Mass. The Leopards improve to 13-8-4 overall and 10-3-1 in the ECAC Northeast, while the Colonels fall to 14-8-3 overall and 10-2-2 in the ECAC Northeast.
Wentworth scored five third period goals to defeat Curry, 7-2 and clinch the #2 seed in the conference. The Colonels remain at #1 despite the loss. Both the Colonels and the Leopards will have a first round bye and play in the semi-final game of the ECAC Northeast Tournament on March 2.
The Colonels battled the Leopards to a scoreless first period with Wentworth outshooting Curry 10-4. Wentworth was the first to get on the board just 35 seconds into the second frame when junior Mike Paglino (Grosse Pointe Shores, MI) took a slap shot that sailed past sophomore goaltender Travis Owens (Burbank, CA). Paglino finished the night with five points on two goals and three assists. Curry tied the game late in the period when freshman Joshua Pineiro (Burbank, CA) scored off a pass from freshman Michael Lopez (Newton, MA). The Leopards took back the lead at the 17:02 mark when freshman Cameron Gibson (Valencia, CA) took advantage of a power-play and scored off assists from Paglino and freshman goaltender Chris Azzano (Oshawa, ON).
Wentworth outscored Curry 5-1 in the final period of the game with three of the goals scored off an empty net. The Leopards scored the first two goals of the period before Curry would score their second and final goal. Junior Skylur Jameson (Long Beach, CA) scored his first and second with both goals assisted by Paglino and sophomore Anthony Principato (Holmdel, NJ). Principato finished the game with four assists. Pineiro scored at the 16:35 mark to cut Wentworth’s lead to two. Juniors Steven Mohler (Anaheim, CA) and John Williams (Flourtown, PA) were credited with the assists. The Leopards last three goals were all scored with just under three minutes to play. Wentworth capitalized on each empty net situation. Paglino and sophomore Shaun Jameson (Long Beach, CA) and freshman Dozois (Manotick, ONT) scored for the Leopards.
The Colonels finished with a total of 25 shots and the Leopards 32.
Azzano made 23 saves in net for Wentworth for his twelfth win of the season. Owens made 25 saves in goal for the Colonels for just his second loss.
The teams will await the outcome of the winners from the quarterfinal games being played on Saturday, February 26. As the #1 and #2 seed, Curry and Wentworth will play in the semi-final round on Wednesday, March 2.
