Seahawks rally in third to stun Hawks

MARLBORO, Mass. --- The Becker College men's ice hockey team lost 4-3 to visiting Salve Regina University on Thursday night at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro. The Ice Hawks of Becker fall to 2-4 and 2-3 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings while the Seahawks of Salve Regina improve to 6-1 and 5-0 against CCC opponents as they remain the top-seeded team in the league.

Becker, who before the season had been picked to finish ninth in the ten team CCC, got on the board first. On a power play with 2:32 left in the first period, junior forward Corey Sherman (Hilton, N.Y. / Syracuse Stars) scored his first goal of the year, putting the Ice Hawks up 1-0, assisted by junior forward James Wallace (Levittown, Pa. / Philadelphia Revolution). That score would hold up going into the first intermission.

Then with nine minutes left in the second period, Sherman recovered a slow puck in front of the goal and put the puck into the net, and suddenly the Ice Hawks were up 2-0. Salve Regina got on the board with 2:52 remaining in the second when junior forward Adam Augusta (Windham, N.H. / Cushing Academy) scored unassisted for his first goal of the year to make the score 2-1 Becker at the end of two.

2:30 into the third period sophomore forward Brandon Morgan (Rochester, N.Y. / Syracuse Stars) scored his first goal of the year as Becker went up 3-1, assisted by junior forward John Dutney (Hudson, Mass. / The Winchendon School).

The Seahawks would rally, however, scoring three unanswered goals from sophomore defenseman Kevin Clare (Chicago, Ill. / Rio Grande (NAHL)), senior forward Evan Schultz (Durham, N.H. / Oswego St.) and sophomore forward Cameron Russo (Billerica, Mass. / Austin Preparatory) to take the lead with 3:54 left in the game. The Ice Hawks would be unable to score the equalizer however, and Salve Regina escaped with the win.

Becker senior goalie Tyler Stepke (Mars, Pa. / Three Rivers Vengeance) finished the night with 37 saves while Salve Regina sophomore goalkeeper Blake Wojtala (Trenton, Mich. / N.Y. Apple Core (EHL)) recorded 15 stops. The Seahawks outshot the Ice Hawks, 41-18.

Becker travels to the University of New England on Saturday for a 7:00 p.m. league game. Salve Regina will be back in the Worcester area on Saturday when the play at Nichols College at 6:40 p.m. in a matchup of the CCC's two top-ranked teams.