Wojtala blanks Wildcats; Thompson, Biggs score in third for 2-0 Seahawk win

SEAHAWK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY RESULTS

Salve Regina 2, Johnson & Wales 0
Portsmouth, R.I. – Portsmouth Abbey
Saturday, February 27, 2016

ECAC NORTHEAST QUARTERFINAL

Summary
PORTSMOUTH, R.I. - Pat Thompson's (Hellertown, Pa.) goal at 15:29 in third period broke a scoreless tie and Marc Biggs (Plano, Texas) added an empty netter as freshman goalie Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) posted his second career shutout with 24 saves in his first appearance in a month. Salve Regina University men's ice hockey defeats Johnson & Wales University, 2-0, in an ECAC Northeast Quarterfinal at the Portsmouth Abbey.

Series and Streaks
The Seahawks have now won four in a row over the Wildcats and five of the last six, however Johnson & Wales still owns an 18-12-0 record in the all-time series. Seahawks swept the season series and added a second straight playoff victory over the Wildcats.

Three Stars of the Game
1 – Salve Regina sophomore Pat Thompson (Hellertown, Pa.) - scored game-winner in front of the net on a feed from Nick Cyr (Mount Laurel, N.J.) on the right wing.
2 – Salve Regina freshman Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich.) - made 24 saves in his second collegiate shutout; had not played since January 27.
3 – Johnson & Wales junior Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.) made 38 saves with one goal against in the loss.

Key Stat of the Game
The Seahawks outshot the Wildcats 40-24; including 29-12 in the final two periods.

Turning Point
The Seahawks had dominated the scoring chances in all three periods but had been shutout by Wildcat netminder Joey Ballmer until Nick Cyr (Mount Laurel, N.J.) threaded a pass to Pat Thompson (Hellertown, Pa.) coming into the middle. Thompson netted his team-leading 12th goal of the season.

Quick Hits

• With each win the Seahawks continue to reset the program record for wins in a season, now at 15 in total for 2015-16.
• Johnson & Wales went 0-for-4 on the power-play while Salve Regina went scoreless on its three extra-man opportunities.
• Salve Regina advances to the ECAC Northeast Semifinals (third time in four seasons) and will play at Nichols College on Wednesday, March 2.
• Biggs' empty net tally was the 11th goal of his season, and 44th of his career, giving him 88 total points in a Seahawk uniform.
• Salve Regina has 11 players scoring in double-figures this season, led by sophomore forward Evan Schmidbauer (San Diego, Calif.) with five goals, 15 assists, 20 points.
• Johnson & Wales was shutout for third time this season which includes a scoreless tie against Wentworth on November 11, 2016.
• The Wildcats emptied their net with just over two minutes remaining and the Seahawks misfired on their first look. Ballmer returned to the posts when a faceoff was just outside the zone, then headed to the bench for an extra skater but the Wildcats were unsuccessful and gave up Biggs' goal.

Quote
"Good playoff win, stuck with it for 60 minutes. Other goalie was good, we just kept plugging away and buried one. Blake (Wojtala) was awesome to come back after being out for a few weeks; he just shut it down, and I'm proud of him." - head coach Andy Boschetto

Next up
Salve Regina (15-10-1) – Wednesday, March 2 at Nichols, 8:10 p.m. (ECAC Northeast Semifinal)
Johnson & Wales (11-11-4) - end of season