Box Score Box score (CHS)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Rory Hansen scored the game-winning goal early in the second period and Eric Sorenson made the lead stand up with 35 saves to lead Western New England past Manhattanville, 3-2, in a non-conference men's hockey matchup on Tuesday evening at Smead Arena.
For Manhattanville, the loss snaps the team's 21-game non-conference regular-season unbeaten streak (20-0-1), which dated back to the team's last non-conference loss on November 29, 2009 against Williams.
John Kelly and Chris Connors both had a goal and an assist for the Golden Bears, while Hansen tallied the eventual game-winning score in the second period to help the home team to a win. For Manhattanville, sophomores Luc Van Natter (Fort Erie, Ont./Aurora Tigers (OPJHL)) and Adam Young (Edmonton, Alta./Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)) scored in the loss.
Western New England struck first right around the midway point of the first period, as Kelly took a pass from Brandon Stroud and beat Valiant freshman goaltender Brian Fleming (Saint John, N.B./Northern Cyclones (AJHL)), who was making his collegiate debut in the cage for Manhattanville. But the Valiants erased that deficit soon after, as Van Natter took feeds from senior captain Evan Michalchuk (Edmonton, Alta./Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)) and junior Scott Hudson (St. Albert, Alta./Sherwood Park Crusaders (AJHL)) and beat Sorenson for his second of the year.
Penalties got the better of Manhattanville late in the period, though, which allowed the Golden Bears to take a lead into the first intermission. With the teams skating four-on-four, the visitors were whistled for too many men on the ice, and it took WNE just 22 seconds for Connors to score and regain the lead after 20 minutes.
Manhattanville upped the offensive pressure in the second period, taking 16 shots to Western New England's eight, and that pressure worked rather quickly as Young tallied an unassisted marker to even the score again 3:38 into the middle frame. But just over three minutes later, Hansen notched his first of the year from Connors and Aaron Ziegler to put the home team on top for a third time.
On this occasion, Manhattanville was unable to get back to even for the rest of the contest, despite firing 30 shots on the WNE goal over the final 40 minutes of play and pulling the goaltender in the final minute.
Sorenson stood tall in goal for the Golden Bears, making 35 saves on 37 shots to earn his first win of the year. Fleming suffered the loss in the first game of his career, despite making 24 saves on 27 shots for the Valiants.
Manhattanville (1-3-0) will return to Playland Ice Casino on Sunday, as the team hosts Williams in a non-conference battle beginning at 3 p.m. The live video broadcast on GoValiants.TV will begin at approximately 2:45 p.m. Western New England (4-2-0) will travel to Salve Regina next Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup.
