Salve Regina skates to 3-1 victory on Mental Health Awareness Night

MIDDLETOWN, R.I.--The Salve Regina University men's ice hockey team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology 3-1 with a packed house for Mental Health Awareness Night at St. George's. Yesterday the Seahawks bested the Leopards 5-2 on Wentworth's home ice in Boston, Massachusetts. 

Salve Regina didn't have any surprises. Rather, the team found success by staying consistent and scored once in each period, only allowing one Leopard goal on a penalty kill when Wentworth pulled their goalie. 

This is the third year in a row the team has held Mental Health Awareness Night with all proceeds going to support Newport Mental Health. 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Final: Salve Regina 3, Wentworth 1
Records: Salve Regina (6-0-0,4-0-0), Wentworth (3-4-0,1-3-0)
All-Time Series: After yesterday and today's wins the Seahawks are now 13-17 against the Leopards. 

BREAKDOWN: 

• Period I: Wentworth started off the game with energy, looking for redemption from last night's loss. The first period began with a series of penalties for both teams, with few results. It wasn't until 60 seconds remaining that Seth Benson scored on an assist from Logan Calder. The contest was hardly decided with 40 minutes left to go and both programs had to rethink their strategies to get the upper hand. 
• Period II: Wentworth was called for tripping, hooking and high sticking during the second 20 minutes of the game. However, Salve Regina also found themselves in the sin bin twice for high sticking and cross checking. With just over 15 minutes on the clock Logan Calder (from Aidan Coupe and Garrett Szeremley) sent the puck soaring into Wentworth's net, making the score 2-0 going into the last intermission. 
• Period III: It was looking good for the Seahawks after Walter Baumann (from Jonathan Hammel) extended Salve Regina's lead to 3-0. However, the Leopards weren't giving up without a fight. Salve Regina was called for cross checking and shortly after the Leopards pulled their goalie with 4:30 left and the clock ticking down. Six Wentworth skaters faced four Salve Regina counterparts and it was just enough for Ian Worthley (from Nikolas Sombrowski and George Weiner) to slap the puck past the crease into the next. Wentworth's goalie never returned to the game, but Salve Regina put a stop to any more scoring for the evening. 

NOTEWORTHY:

• Wentworth took 31 shots on net and Salve Regina had 27 shots on net during the matchup. 
• Salve Regina had three power play opportunities during which the team took nine shots and made one goal.
• Wentworth had six power play opportunities, taking ten shots and making one goal. 
• Cayden Bailey is credited as the winning goalie after making 30 saves and remaining in-net for 59:51.
• Will Oliver protected the net for 56:30 and made 24 saves.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH KLANN:

"Last night was a test. We had a slow start and a fast finish. What the team has done towards Mental Health Awareness Night is above our program and playing the game. A lot of family was in town, and they put a lot of energy into this. The first period we had a little bit of a slow start with all the noise around us, but we were able to settle in. Cayden Bailey was unbelievable tonight. We had some guys step up in key defensive situations to keep us in it. Ultimately, they came together and took a step forward and closed out another weekend which is always huge."

"This night is close to the team's heart. In the world today there's a lot of people who are struggling with depression and mental health related issues. For us to be able to do something that gets Salve involved with the community and raise money to help the community is something we need more of. We're going to continue to do this and make it as big as we can every year." 

ON THE HORIZON: 

On Tuesday, November 14 men's ice hockey treks to New Haven, Connecticut at 5 p.m. to play the Falcons of Albertus Magnus.