Nor'easters top Seahawks for first CCC crown

SEAHAWK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY RESULTS
U. of New England 6, Salve Regina 2
Bradford R. Boss Arena - Kingston, R.I.
Saturday, March 2, 2019

Summary
KINGSTON, R.I. - Making its third straight appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championship game, the University of New England men's ice hockey team topped Salve Regina University 6-2 Saturday night to claim the conference crown and advance to the NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament.

Series and Streaks
The Seahawks still own a 6-4 record in the all-time series. This was the first ever postseason meeting between the teams.

Three Stars of the Game

1. UNE sophomore Ben Churchfield (Newcastle, England) made 30 saves to improve to 15-5-2 on the season between the pipes.
2. UNE junior Ryan Bloom (Northville, Mich.) scored twice and handed out two assists.
3. UNE senior Brady Fleurent (Biddeford, Maine) dished out three assists.

Key Stat of the Game
UNE converted three of eight powerplay chances. The nor'easters first powerplay goal, courtesy of Brendan Donohue (New Hope, Pa.) at 15:30 of the first period, proved to be the game-winning goal. Salve Regina went 1-for-7 on the man advantage.

Turning Point
Salve Regina jumped on top first when Kevin Clare (Chicago, Ill.) broke the scoreless tie 8:07 into the first period with his first goal of the season, however the Seahawks only had the lead for a little over two minutes. Jimmy Elser (Verbank, N.Y.) buried a shot on the break to tie the game at 10:20 then Ryan Bloom added his first of the night 63 seconds later to give the Nor'easters the lead; a lead they would never surrender. Donahue added his powerplay tally shortly afterwards and Jeff Eppright (Barrington, N.J.) make the Nor'easters 2-for-2 on the man advantage with just 17 seconds left in the first period to give UNE a 4-1 lead at the first intermission. Salve Regina had chances on the powerplay to claw back into the game in the second period, but a short-handed goal for Bloom pushed the Nor'easters to a four-goal advantage and stole momentum from the Seahawks.

Quick Hits

• After giving up the first goal the Nor'easters scored four goals in the span of 9:23 to close the first period, and scored six straight overall before the Seahawks lit the lamp again.
• UNE improves to 5-1-0 when allowing the first goal this season while the Seahawks suffer their first loss when scoring first. They had been undefeated in their previous 17 games when they lit the lamp first.
• UNE outshot Salve Regina 51-32.
• Senior netminder Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) made 45 saves in the loss to fall to 17-7-2 in net for the Seahawks.
• Colin Clapton (Canton, Mass.) scored the Seahawks lone powerplay goal in the third period to round out the scoring for Salve Regina.

Next Up
University of New England (20-6-2) claims its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's ice hockey championship and earns the conference's automatic qualifier into the NCAA tournament. Salve Regina's season ends with a final mark of 18-7-2.