Statistics

EVERETT, Mass. -- Long after trailing by three goals, Fernand-Olivier Perron struck for a pair of scores to lift No.7 University of New England in front in the middle of the 3rd period, as the Nor'easters roared to a 6-3 Conference of New England (CNE) men's ice hockey triumph over Wentworth Institute of Technology at Allied Veterans Rink on Saturday (Feb. 14).

It marked the largest comeback of the season for the Nor'easters (19-5-0, 16-3-0 CNE), who have now rallied from multiple-goal deficits on the road twice, and by scoring six unanswered goals each time (the other: Oct. 31 at Plymouth State). Saturday was also the second instance when UNE erased a 2nd intermission deficit for a win.

With the home-and-home sweep of the Leopards (5-16-2, 4-13-1), the Nor'easters (48 points) maintain their cushion in the CNE standings heading into next weekend's regular-season finales. UNE is at home on Saturday (7 p.m.) against Nichols College, while Endicott College (43 points) and Suffolk University (42 points) both have two games left.

The bid for a ninth consecutive victory did not get off to a good start for the visitors, as WIT converted its first three shots on goal at 7:30 (Nikolas Sombrowski), 8:01 (Desmond Johnson), and 10:45 (Nolan Pecora). The spread held at three for 26 minutes, and somewhat thankfully, as UNE needed to kill off three power plays during that span.

But then a two-minute advantage in the late stages of the 2nd opened the door for heavy pressure by the Nor'easters, and the Leopards could not hold the line any further. One tick after the power play expired (16:44), Cam Bergeman finally got UNE on the board with his fifth of the campaign.

It was still 3-1 with 20 minutes remaining on the clock, but that changed in a matter of 14 seconds on a tally by Nathan Chickering. Another power play opportunity soon came into the picture, and Dominic Murphy quickly deposited the equalizer at the 2:25 mark. For Murphy -- who had 11 helpers in the previous six outings to rise to second nationally in assists per game -- it was his first score during the win streak, and eighth of the year.

With the momentum squarely on their side, the Nor'easters continued to swarm, and it wasn't until more than eight minutes elapsed in the 3rd that the Leopards even attempted a shot -- which was denied by Harrison Chesney. And, on the ensuing turn down the ice, that's when Perron gave UNE its first lead of the day (9:00). Perron wasted little time finding some insurance, too, scoring again just 23 seconds later for a 5-3 edge. The rookie has made the most of his nine matches in uniform, now with four goals and three multi-point games.

The visitors survived one more penalty kill to reach 98.9 percent on the season (86 for 87), and then Chickering found an empty net in the waning moments to complete the 24-minute surge. With the two goals, Chickering joined Drew Olivieri for tops on the squad at 13.

The five tallies in the 3rd tied the most in any one period of 2025-26. On 10 occasions now, the Nor'easters have registered at least six goals in a contest.

Chesney wound up with 12 stops for UNE, which received three assists out of Jacob Pellerin, who had just tied the program record of four in a game last week. Contrary to the night prior, when faceoffs were essentially split, Ike Keller, Olivieri (also 2 assists), Ryan Hadland, and Juraj Elias combined to claim 38 out of the 52 draws they took.

Topher Chirico had 33 saves for the hosts.