Men’s Hockey Edges Western New England, 4-2

CHARLESTOWN, Mass. – Suffolk men's hockey scored in each period, including two in the third, to take a 4-2 victory over Western New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Tuesday at Emmons Horrigan O'Neil Memorial Rink. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4 | Western New England 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-8-3, 4-6-3 CCC) | Western New England (4-12-2, 2-11-1 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Shawn Montgomery lit the lamp 3:31 into the game to give Suffolk a boost early on. The senior pulled Colten Lancaster out to the crease and did a wrap-around move of the goalie's pads to flick the puck into the back of the twine. Ryan Harrigan aided in the game-opening goal.  

The Rams took that 1-0 lead into the second period, but like Suffolk, Western New England scored three minutes into the middle period to even the playing field. Demitrios Stefanou sniped a shot right the right face-off dot that zoomed past Cal Wilcox to even the score at 1-1.  

John Garrity got the goal back as the senior picked up the pieces from Olle Akermark's rebound to restore the one-goal gap for the hosts. Alex Kolowrat had a hand in the marker that came at the 9:06 minute mark of the second period. 

Max Rand padded the advantage 5:32 into the third period. Sergi Anisimov was behind WNE's cage slipped over to Kyle Valiquette, who was behind Lancaster's left shoulder. Valiquette found Rand open in front and the junior rocked a high shot out of the reach of the Golden Bears goalie to give Suffolk a 3-1 cushion. 

Just about five minutes later, Kolowrat found the back of the net. Off the face-off in Western New England's zone, the Rams worked the puck around for the perfect opportunity, which was Kolowrat wide open on the outside of the right face-off circle. The junior swiftly turned and shot to push the distance to three, 4-1, at the midway point. 

Goals continued in five-minute increments as the third period continued. This time it was Western New England as Stefanou logged his second of the day to trim the Rams' edge to two, 4-2. 

Suffolk maintained that margin the rest of the way despite the chippiness on the either side.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Wilcox registered 28 saves in the victory. 
• Lancaster had 37 stops in the setback. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Kolowrat led Suffolk's four-goal offense with two points on a divided stat line of one marker and one assist. 
• Montgomery, Rand and Garrity all lit the lamp once. 
• Harrigan, Nick Lachaine, Anisimov, Akermark and Valiquette handed out one assist apiece. 
• Suffolk led shots, 41-30. 
• Wester New England won the battle at the face-off dot, 40-26.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk is unbeaten in the last four games. That is the longest unbeaten stretch since winning four in a row Nov. 16-26, 2018. 
• The Rams improved to 22-13-4 all-time against Western New England. 
• The blue-and-gold is unbeaten in four in a row versus the Golden Bears. 
• At home, Suffolk is now 10-6-1 when hosting WNE. 
• Anisimov recorded his first collegiate point. 
• Rand (3g, 1a) stretched his point streak to four games in a row. 
• Kolowrat (1g, 3a) has recorded a point in the last three games. 
• Garrity registered his first goal of the season. 
• Harrigan has had an assist in the last two games. 
• Lachaine (2g, 3a) has logged a point in the last five outings. 

POST-GAME PIC
  

COMING UP
Suffolk splits its weekend with clashes against Curry and Salve Regina. The Rams head to the Colonels Friday, Feb. 4 before hosting the Seahawks Saturday, Feb. 5. Both outings have 7 p.m. puck drops.