Men’s Hockey Handles WNE 9-5

EAST BOSTON – Sixteen different Rams produced a point to send Suffolk men's hockey to a 9-5 Conference of New England triumph over Western New England Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 9 | Western New England 5
RECORDS: Suffolk (9-10-2, 4-9-1 CNE) | Western New England (5-14-2, 1-11-2 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Nine Rams contributed at least one point in the first period to help Suffolk take a 4-1 lead after the first 20 minutes.  

The scoring started 1:40 into the contest when Joe O'Brien chipped in a Josh Milso rebound. Ralph Berry had an assist in the game-opening goal as well. Less than four minutes later, Scott McManus found the back of the net with help from Jack Robinson and Milso.  

Matt Pimental joined the scoring scene at the 13:47 mark thanks to assists by Gavin Havens and Cole Scott. 

Benito Calvanese snuck one by CJ Hapward 37 seconds later to put the Golden Bears on the board before Milso recorded his third point on the night on a goal with 1:44 left in the first period. Michael McEachern and Pimental had a hand in the goal that made the margin three as the teams headed to the locker room. 

Suffolk's scoring carried into the middle period as it poured in three answered to extend its advantage to 7-1. Thomas Dempsey, Nolan Leonard and McEachern were responsible for the Rams strikes.  

A power play puck by WNE with 3:41 left in the second period cut the gap down to five, 7-2, when the teams went into the second intermission. 

More scoring came in the third period. Robinson found the back of the cage first thanks to help from Cole and Evan England.  

Back-to-back WNE goals including a shorthanded strike from Jordie Morgan trimmed Suffolk's advantage to four, 8-4, with 4:26 left in regulation.  

The teams traded power play goals over the next two minutes for the 9-5 final. Nick Liotino was responsible for the Rams final goal of the night with a power play marker at the 14:58 mark. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Hapward had 28 saves in the victory. 
• Anthony Aureliano took the loss for the Golden Bears. He made 13 saves in 22:18 of play. 
• Logan Palmer logged 23 saves in the final 37:42 in between the pipes for WNE. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Sixteen Rams registered a point, seven of which had multiple points to their credit. 
• Milso led the way with four behind one goal and three assists. 
• Pimental provided three points on one goal and two helpers. 
• Leonard, McEachern and Robison notched two points on identical, one-goal, one-assist stat lines. 
• Scott supplied three handouts.
• England handed out out two assists. 
• Dempsey, McManus and O'Brien all had one goal each.
• Berry, Feinberg, Havens, Liotino
• Liotino, Webb and Whitford all notched one assist apiece.
• Suffolk outshot WNE, 45-33.
• The Rams won the face-off battle, 43-29.
• Suffolk went 1-for-3 on the power play, while WNE went 2-for-3 with an extra skater. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The nine goals scored are the most in the Shawn McEachern era and most since Suffolk scored nine in a 9-5 victory at UMass Dartmouth Jan. 21, 2016. 
• The nine goals versus Western New England are the most for Suffolk in the game-by-game series, which goes back until Nov. 11, 2000. 
• The four-goal margin of victory over WNE is the largest for the Rams since they shutout the Golden Bears 5-0 Nov. 18, 2017. 
• Since 2000, Suffolk is 25-14-16 against Western New England. 
• Suffolk defeated the Golden Bears for the first time since Dec. 1, 2023. 
• The Rams moved to 14-6-1 when hosting WNE. 
• The blue-and-gold is now 3-1-2 against Western New England under McEachern's guidance.
• Milso recorded a career-high in points (4) and assists (3). He scored his third goal of the season. 
• Pimental produced a personal-best in points with three and assists (2). He recorded his first points of the season and tied a career-high in goals scored with one. 
• McManus and O'Brien both logged their fifth goal of the year. 
• Dempsey scored his first collegiate goal. 
• Leonard and McEachern both potted their second goals of the year. The latter had his first multi-point game as a Ram, while the former had a personal-best two points.
• Robinson had his first multi-point game of his collegiate career. 
• Webb and Whitford each dished out their fourth assist of the year. 
• Scott matched set a personal-best in points (3) and assists (3). 
• England dished out multiple assists for the first time in his collegiate career. His career-high two helpers matched a personal-best two points. 
• Feinberg and Havens logged their third assists of the season.
• Liotino dished out his first assist of the year. 
• Berry notched one helper.
  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk and WNE wrap up the home-and-home series with Western New England Sunday, Feb. 9 at 4:30 p.m. at Olympia Ice Center.