Seahawks score early to top Golden Bears and advance to semifinals

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SEAHAWK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY RESULTS
Salve Regina 8, Western New England 1
Portsmouth, Rhode Island - Portsmouth Abbey
Sunday, February 17, 2018

Summary
The No. 5 Salve Regina University men's ice hockey team cruised to a 8-1 victory over Western New England in the quarterfinals of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships. 

Series and Streaks
The Seahawks own a 20-10-1 record in the all-time series and have won two in a row over the Golden Bears.

Three Stars of the Game

1. Salve Regina sophomore Jack Billings (Oak Lawn, Ill.) scored twice and handed out an assist.
2. Salve Regina junior Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) made 25 saves to collect his 18th victory of the season in net as he adds to his program record for wins in a single season.
3. Western New England junior Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) made a career-high 56 saves in the loss.

Key Stat of the Game
The Seahawks outshot the Golden Bears 64-26.

Turning Point
The Seahawks leapt out to a 3-0 lead and held a 4-1 lead to start the third period. However the Golden Bears had a powerplay to begin the third frame with a chance to draw within two scores after a strong second period. The Golden Bears had three cracks at Wojtala on the man advantage, but could not break through. A puck rolled out near the blue line and Jack Billings pounced on it and streaked up the ice as the Seahawks' penalty expired. Billings carried down the right side with Danny Eruzione (Winthrop, Mass.) streaking to his left on a 2-on-1. Billings held the puck as long as he could then saucered it across to Eruzione who buried the shot to give the Seahawks a four-goal lead and flip the momentum of the game.

Quick Hits

• Jack Billings sets a new program record for assists in a single season (25) passing Evan Schultz (24) in the record book.
• Junior defenseman Connor Graham (Norfolk, Mass.) scored Western New England's lone goal late in the first period.
• Six different Seahawks scored in the game.
• Senior forward Pat Thompson (Hellertown, Pa.) ties Lucas Sousa for the most games played in program history (102).
• Salve Regina went 4-for-7 on the powerplay, aided by a major penalty late in the game while the Golden Bears went 0-for-3 with the man advantage.

Next Up
Salve Regina (20-4-2) will host the semifinals on Saturday, February 24.
Western New England finishes the season with a 9-14-3 record.