MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's hockey team defeated Western New England, 4-1, on Saturday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at the Max Ulin Rink.  With the win the Colonels improve their record to 3-2 overall and 3-1 in the CCC.  The loss drops the Golden Bears to 1-3-1 on the season and 1-2-1 in the CCC.

Curry jumped on the board first midway through the opening period off a goal from Mike Apreda (Newmarket, Ont.).  The tally was set up by senior Jake Heisinger (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and sophomore Lionel Mauron (Lausanne, Switzerland).   The teams posted matching shots at seven apiece but solid play between the pipes by the Colonels senior netminder Brett Sinclair (St. Catherine's, Ont.) kept Western New England scoreless.  Curry headed into intermission with the 1-0 advantage.

Just 4:22 into the second frame, the Golden Bears tied the game after sophomore Steve Beck (Milton, N.Y.) one-timed the puck past the glove of Sinclair.  Classmate Joe Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) was credited with the assist.  Beck's goal would be the only score on the night for Western New England.  The Colonels freshman Tomas Brejcha (Prague, Czech Republic) answered back a little over four minutes later to earn the game-winner.  Brejcha collected the puck at mid-ice and had to beat one defender before shooting over the shoulder of the Golden Bear's sophomore goaltender Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.).    Senior Dan McGinnis (Hanover, Mass.) and freshman Alex Mono (Las Vegas, Nev.) earned the assists.  

Curry got their insurance goal at the 11:55 minute mark of the final period.  Junior Adam Valadao (Ajax, Ontario) took a slap shot that sailed past Gollmer.  Valladao was set up by Mono and sophomore Zachery White (Milford, Conn.).  Western New England pulled Gollmer with less than a minute remaining for an extra attacker, however was unable to capitalize.  Senior Tyler Vankleef (Dundas, Ont.) extended the final margin to four with an empty netter with 43 seconds left of the game.   Mono earned his third assist finishing the night as the lead point-scorer with three while Apreda finished with two points after being credited with Vankleefs tally on a goal and a helper.

Sinclair made 16 saves to record the win. Gollmer made 34 stops in the loss.

The Colonels outshot the Golden Bears 38-17 and held a 38-22 advantage in the faceoff circle.  Neither team was able to capitalize on its opportunities with a man advantage, as Curry was 0-for-1 on their power play and Western New England was 0-for-3.

Both teams are back in action on Thursday night as Curry hosts Suffolk at 6:45 p.m. and Western New England hosts Nichols at 7:30 p.m.