W. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's ice hockey team tied 2-2 with the Western New England Golden Bears Thursday (Jan. 5) evening inside the Olympia Ice Center. With the tie, the Lancers move to 3-6-3, while the Bears stand at 4-7-2.
Following a scoreless first period, the Golden Bears went ahead 11:04 into the second period on a goal from Braedan Pearl (L'Orignal, Ont.), assisted from CJ Totillo (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
However, Worcester State came back with two back-to-back power play goals in the 16th and 18th minutes to take the 2-1 lead going into the third stanza. At 15:50, Worcester State's Nick Patullo (Doylestown, Pa.) shot one past Western New England's goaltender, as Alex DeWitz (Oronco, Minn.) and Andy DeAngelis (Poughquag, N.Y.) set him up for the shot with only four Golden Bears on the ice. At 17:01 Mike Moran (Milford, Mass.) slid another past the defense as Patrick Germain (Auburn, Mass.) and Jim LeNoir (Exton, Pa.) helped assist the goal. Despite the Lancers' takeover in the second, the Bears outshot the Lancers 19-5 in the frame.
The Golden Bears knotted the score at 2-2 just 3:40 into the third period, as David Kleyman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) netted an unassisted goal. The 2-2 score would prove to be the final score, as neither team was able to capitalize in the remainder of the third period, and throughout the five minute overtime period.
Worcester State's goaltender, Cory Lignelli (Glastonbury, Conn.) registered 27 saves in the 65 minutes of play, while Western New England's Kevin Gollmer (Flourtown, Pa.) stopped 26 shots in the tie.
Worcester State went .500 on power play opportunities, while the Golden Bears went 0-for-5 throughout the night.
The Lancers return to action on Sunday (Jan. 8) when they host UMass-Dartmouth in a 5 p.m. matchup at the Hart Recreation Center.