SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Senior forwards Kory Grahl (San Diego, CA) and Rory Hansen (Noblesville, IN) each scored two goals as the Western New England men’s hockey team defeated Curry 10-3 in a hard-hitting ECAC Northeast Saturday night (Feb. 4) at Smead Arena.
Grahl also added a pair of assists as the Golden Bears raised their record to 11-10 following their highest scoring total of the season and 6-4 in the league. The 11 wins are the most by a WNE team since the 1999-2000 season.
Western New England handed Curry its first ECAC loss in 10 outings. The Colonels, who defeated the Golden Bears 4-2 back on November 19 in Milton, Massachusetts, are now 11-8-2.
Curry took a 1-0 lead when senior Ryan Barlock (Niles, IL) scored at 11:34 of the opening period. Sophomore forward Trent Krueger (White Bear Lake, MN) tied the game with 19 seconds remaining in the period.
The visitors took the lead for the last time following a short-handed goal by senior forward Payden Benning (Estevan, SK) at 3;54 of the second stanza. Sophomore forward Brian Prost (Parma, OH) knotted the score with a power play goal just 35 seconds later.
Western New England used goals by freshman forward Matt Dore (Shelburne, MA) at 12:37 and sophomore forward John Kelly (Staten Island, NY) on a power play shot at 15:09 to open a 4-2 margin. Curry got within 4-3 when senior forward John Williams (Flourtown, PA) tallied a power play opportunity 50 seconds later. He also had an assist in the game.
Hanson fired in a goal at 18:32 to give the Golden Bears a 5-3 advantage after two periods.
That set the stage for a wild third period in which there were 18 penalties (10 for Curry) and five unanswered Western New England goals.
Senior forward Mike Kaselouskas (East Longmeadow, MA) put WNE ahead 6-3 with a goal at the 4:48 mark.
Curry then gambled by pulling freshman backup goalie Luc Montolni (Newbury, MA) three times, but the strategy backfired when Grahl scored a pair of empty net goals in a 1:07 span, the last coming at 10:44.
The officials then handed out 17 penalties over the next five minutes as both teams continued their rough play.
The final two goals came from freshman defenseman Michael Darrar (Monroe Township, NJ) at 16:24 and Hanson’s last score with 14 seconds left in the contest.
Prost finished with a goal and two assists while Kelly, Kaselouskas, and Dore each had a goal and assist. Sophomore forward Chris Connors (Albany, NY) contributed a pair of assists.
Sophomore goalie Eric Sorenson (Fairport, NY) compiled 27 saves (17 in the first period) for his 10th victory of the season.
Curry junior goalie Joe Dawson (Woodbury, MN) allowed three goals and made seven saves in 27 minutes, 21 seconds.
Freshman Derek Mohney (Amherst, NY) played the final 7:23 of the second period and allowed two goals while stopping five shots. Freshman Luc Montoni (Newbury, Mass.) gave up three goals and turned away 12 shots in the final 20 minutes. (Game Recap Courtesy of Western New England Sports Information)
