Seahawks defeat Leopards 4-2, advance to CCC semifinals
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
#5 Wentworth (10-15-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
|
#4 Salve Regina (16-8-2) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (Wednesday, February 21, 2024)-- No.4 Salve Regina Men's ice hockey won out 4-2 over Wentworth Institute of Technology after the Leopards achieved the first goal of the day in the first round of the CCC postseason tournament.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Salve Regina 4, Wentworth 2
Records: Salve Regina (16-8-2 CCC), Wentworth (10-15-1 CCC)
All-Time Series: Salve Regina is 15-17-5 against Wentworth since the 2007-08 season. The Seahawks defeated the Leopards on all three instances the teams saw each other in the 2023-24 regular season.
BREAKDOWN:
Salve Regina got a slower start to the game, allowing the Leopards to score three minutes into the day. The scoring slowed, although the pace of the game did not, until Logan Calder (From Karsten Kruska and Jonathan Hammel) made it a 1-1 contest at 7:09 in the second period. The 1-1 tie didn't last long, however, because Wentworth got themselves their second lead of the evening just over a minute later.
The third period is where it the Seahawks amped it up by scoring three goals. Just 20 seconds in, Joseph Kile (from Parker Mabbett and Matthew Brunton) tied the game 2-2 and the crowd went wild. Walter Baumann (from from Jonathan Hammel) netted the game winning goal at 15:06. Despite the Leopards efforts to tie the game by pulling their goalie from the ice, Seth Benson (from Joel Shoemaker) skated down the ice and made an easy empty net goal right in front of Wentworth's crease for a 4-2 game.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH KLANN:
"When it comes down to playoffs it is a brand new season. It doesn't matter if you are first in the league or last in the league as long as you get a ticket to the dance, you're there. Tonight, we came out a little bit timid after playing them a few weeks ago with so much success. Playoffs is a different environment and it's a different game. We just have to stick to the script. We came out and had a very good third period, but we get back to the drawing board tomorrow and Saturday we get to play a good team.
For the next round we have to maintain what we want to do. It's not about making so many adjustments. We need to go into the game with a good game plan and stick to it. Again, this is the time of the year when emotions can get in the way, but we need to stay even shift after shift. It all comes down to that." -Head coach Zech Klann
ON THE HORIZON:
Next up for the Seahawks is the semifinal round of the CCC tournament. No. 4 Salve Regina will play No.1 Curry College at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Curry's home rink.
