Seahawks grind out 4-1 victory over Wildcats

SEAHAWK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY RESULTS

Salve Regina 4, Johnson & Wales 1
Portsmouth, R.I. – Portsmouth Abbey
Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Summary
After both teams played a scoreless 40 minutes of action the Salve Regina University men's ice hockey team scored four times in the third period to defeat Johnson & Wales University 4-1 in the final home game of the regular season at the Portsmouth Abbey.

Series and Streaks
The Seahawks have now won three in a row over the Wildcats and four of the last five, however Johnson & Wales still owns a 18-11-0 record in the all-time series.

Three Stars of the Game
1 – Salve Regina freshman Cameron Russo (Billerica, Mass.) scored twice.
2 – Salve Regina freshman Peter McNamara (Germantown, Md.) made 24 saves in his first collegiate start to improve to 2-0 on the season.
3 – Johnson & Wales junior Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.) made 34 saves with two goals against in the loss.

Key Stat of the Game
The Seahawks outshot the Wildcats 39-25; including 27-14 through the first two periods.

Turning Point
The Seahawks had dominated the scoring chances in the first two periods but had been shutout by Wildcat netminder Joey Ballmer. Joseph Yeadon (Burlington, Mass.) gave the Seahawks a 1-0 lead in the third on a powerplay, but the Wildcats answered with a put-back goal to tie the game with 9:57 remaining. Nearly five minutes later Cameron Russo took the puck behind the net from Kyle Moore (Cumming, Ga.) and banked it off of Ballmer's back into the net to give the Seahawks a 2-1 lead. The Wildcats would pull the goalie twice, but the Seahawks scored two on the empty net both times to seal the victory.

Quick Hits

• With each win the Seahawks continue to reset the program record for wins in a season, now at 14 in total for 2015-16.
• The Seahawks had a 5-3 late in the second period with an excellent chance to score when Shaun Patry (Penfield, N.Y.) snapped a shot from point blank range towards what he thought was an open net, only to have Ballmer dive to his right and make a spectacular save to keep things tied 0-0 through two periods.
• The Seahawks went 1-4 on the powerplay on the evening while the Wildcats were 0-2.
• Chad Guderian (Coppell, Texas) scored the only goal for the Wildcats, which tied the game 1-1, on a put-back during a scramble for the puck. 

Quote
"Great playoff-like game, the guys stayed even keeled." - head coach Andy Boschetto

Next up
Salve Regina (14-9-1, 9-5-1 ECACNE) – Saturday, February 20 at Wentowrth, 4 p.m.
Johnson & Wales (10-10-4, 6-6-3 ECACNE) – Saturday, February 20 vs. Nichols, 7:20 p.m.