Statistics

EVERETT, Mass. -- In a Conference of New England regular-season finale, the No. 8 University of New England men's ice hockey team notched a pair of first-period goals on its way to a 3-0 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology at Allied Veterans Rink on Friday night (Feb. 21).

Winners in 11 of its last 12 contests, the Nor'easters (18-6-1, 14-4-0 CNE) will receive an opening-round bye in the upcoming CNE Tournament and host a semifinal-round game next Saturday (March 1).

The Nor'easters entered the scoring column with just under five minutes remaining in the first when Drew Olivieri went top shelf from the high slot. Cam Bergeman had collected a Wentworth turnover in its defensive zone to set up the score.

UNE doubled its lead at the 16:33 mark as Nick Marino knocked down a failed Leopard clearing attempt and rifled home the puck from the low slot.

Ryan Kuzmich completed the scoring in the closing stages for the Nor'easters, sending a laser past Wentworth goaltender Jack McGovern for his team-leading 20^th tally of the season. Kuzmich's goal, which was assisted by Olivieri, moved him into third place all-time for goals scored (55) while becoming just the third Nor'easter to score 20 or more goals in a season (Ryan Bloom '20 twice; Trevor Fleurent '17).

A key moment in the game came late in the second period when the Nor'easters were able to kill off a five-minute major penalty.

Rookie goaltender Stefan Carney upped his record to 9-2-1 with a 13-save performance to register his third shutout.

McGovern stopped 25 shots for the Leopards (7-16-2, 5-12-1), who will be seeded No. 6 for the CNE Men's Ice Hockey Championship and take on third-seeded Endicott College in an opening-round game Wednesday.