Ice Hawks Fall To Wentworth In ECAC Semifinal
BOSTON, Mass. - Senior forward Joey Sides (Sun Valley, Idaho) and freshman forward Forrest Ellis (Pembroke, N.H.) each scored two goals, while junior goalie Justin Marriott (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) stopped 33 of 34 shots to record his school record 17th win of the season as the Wentworth hockey team won extended its winning streak to a school record nine games with a 5-1 win over Becker in an ECAC Northeast Quarterfinal game played at Matthews Arena.
The Leopards jumped on the board first when Ellis tipped in a junior defenseman Martin Winzer (Nuremberg, Germany) shot on the power play at 6:38. Sides would also add an assist on the marker. The lead would remain in Wentworth's favor until the 18:58 mark when freshman forward Robert Johnson (Fenton, Mich.) set up junior forward Mike Herbert (Naperville, Vt.).
Just 1:55 into the second period, Sides would tally the eventual game winner when he put home a rebound of an Ellis shot and would begin a three-goal period for the Black & Gold. Sophomore defenseman Kyle Richardson (San Jose, Calif.) pushed the lead to 3-1 when he scored from classmate Casey Shade (Anchorage, Alaska) at 6:19 before Sides would score his second of the game and 15th of the season, from senior forward Derek Rupert (Louisville, N.Y.) and junior forward Michael O'Brien (Royersford, Pa.) at 11:48 of the period
Ellis would get his second goal of the game - and 10th of his rookie season - at the 2:33 mark of the final period, assisted by Sides and freshman forward Geric Brodt (Anchorage, Alaska) to round out the scoring.
Marriott's 33 saves gives him 2,032 for his career, making him just the second goalie in program history to record 2,000 or more saves in a career. His 17 wins on the season breaks the record of 16, set by Jeff Reid '00, who established the mark during the 1998-99 campaign and tied it the following season.
Junior Tony Stoehr (DePere, Wis.) made 16 saves on 18 shots in just under 22 minutes of work, while freshman Mike Forcillo (Winthrop, Mass.) stopped 25 of 28 shots - including 16 in the third period - over the final 38:05. Forcillo came on for the Hawks after Stoehr received a misconduct penalty after the Leopards' second goal. Wentworth held a 46-34 shot advantage, including 17-10 in the third period.
The win improves third-seeded Wentworth's record to 17-7-1 and the Leopards have accumulated the most wins since the 2002-2003 squad went 21-5-3. Wentworth advances to the conference semifinals where the Leopards will travel to second-seeded Curry (20-4-2) on Wednesday night at 7:35 p.m. The two teams skated to a 6-all tie on Jan. 23 after the Leopards had tied the game with 26.2 seconds left in regulation. Becker ends its season at 11-14-1.
-Wentworth Sports Information-
