Men’s Hockey Bests WNE, 5-1

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Down one after the first period, Suffolk men's hockey scored five unanswered to take down Western New England, 5-1, Sunday at the Olympia Ice Center.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | Western New England 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (10-10-2, 5-9-1 CNE) | Western New England (5-15-2, 1-12-2 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Western New England snuck onto the scoreboard at the 16:49 mark of the first to force Suffolk to play catch up.  

The Rams wasted little time to comeback as Daniel McKiernan scored 1:19 into the second stanza to level the playing field. 

From there, the blue-and-gold poured in three power play goals to go up 4-1 as the teams headed to the locker room for the second time. 

Matthew Pimental was responsible for the eventual game-winner when he found the back of the net at the 8:16 mark. Jake Grace put his own away about four minutes later and Pimental potted his second of the night with 1:07 left before the second intermission to give the Rams a three-goal advantage.  

Ryan Webb struck 4:07 into the final period for the 5-1 final.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• CJ Hapward registered 17 saves in the victory. 
• Anthony Aureliano registered 39 stops in net for the Golden Bears.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Pimental produced two goals to lead Suffolk's offense. 
• Grace, McKiernan and Webb registered one goal each. 
• Both Grace and McKiernan finished with one assist on their stat lines as well. 
• Scott McManus and Michael McEachern dished out two assists apiece. 
• Gavin Havens and Nick Liotino logged one assist each. 
• Suffolk outshot Western New England, 44-18. 
• The Rams went 3-for-10 on the power play. 
• Suffolk commanded the face-off, 50-16. 
• The Rams successfully skated off three penalties.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk has bested WNE by four-goal margin of victories in back-to-back games. 
• Suffolk is now 26-14-16 against Western New England. 
• On the road, the Rams are now 10-10-5 against the Golden Bears. 
• The Rams are now 4-1-2 against Western New England under Shawn McEachern's guidance. 
• Suffolk put away three power play goals for the first time since scoring four in a 5-1 win over Wentworth, Jan. 20, 2024. 
• Pimental produced a career-high two goals. He has produced a point in two straight games. 
• Havens had an assist in back-to-back games. 
• McKiernan and Grace both tied a personal-best in points (2), goals (1) and assists (1). 
• McManus dished out a career-high two assists and matched a personal-record two points. 
• Webb scored his fifth goal of the year. 
• Liotino has logged a point in back-to-back games. 
• McEachern dished out two assists, a Suffolk best for the grad transfer. He has notched two points in two consecutive contests, also a high for in a Suffolk jersey for the forward. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk will spend next weekend, Feb. 14-15, at the friendly confines of Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink when it entertains Wentworth on Valentine's Day at 6:00 p.m. and WNE on Saturday at 4:50 p.m.