MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Connecticut College men's hockey team closed out their road trip falling to host Wesleyan 7-3 on Saturday afternoon from Spurrier-Snyder Rink.
Wesleyan started quickly, opening the scoring just 1:24 into the contest off a goal from Dylan Margel. Just past the midway point of the period, Conn got a power play and capitalized. Will Lawrence (Bethesda, Md.) took a shot from the point that was stopped by Patrick McDevitt, but the rebound fell to Matt Lewis (Pembroke, Mass.) who fired home at 13:26 to make it 1-1.
Just over four minutes later the Camels took the lead. Lawrence won a puck battle below the goal line, finding Ryan McKenna (Garden City, N.Y.) who took a shot at goal, where Arty Mirante (Garden City, N.Y.) was able to tip the shot past McDevitt to make it 2-1. However, with just 1:10 left in the period, Danny Judge evened the score for the Cardinals to send the game to the first intermission tied at two.
Lewis had an early chance for the Camels just 33 seconds into the middle frame but he was stopped by McDevitt. Wesleyan retook the lead at 7:38 as Dallas D'Amato found the back of the net. Just two minutes later, the Cardinals earned a 5-on-3 power play as Margel found the back of the net to push the lead to 4-2. Conn upped the pressure looking to cut the deficit down the stretch in the period, but were unable to beat McDevitt, as Conn trailed 4-2 heading to the third.
Wesleyan struck twice early in the final period to push the lead to 6-2 at 8:10. Just 50 seconds later, Conn was able to cut into the deficit as McKenna threw a puck towards the net where Lawrence redirected it home to make it 6-3. The Camels pulled the goalie with three and a half minutes remaining, but the Cardinals tacked on an empty net goal with 32 seconds left to earn the 7-3 win.
Conn outshot Wesleyan 37-27, while holding a 35-26 advantage on face-off wins.
McEvoy got the start in goal, recording nine saves, before being replaced by Primo Baldassarre (Glenolden, Pa.) who made one save the rest of the way. Lawrence led the way with three points on one goal and two assists, as Mirante added two points on a goal and an assist, McKenna chipped in two assists, and Lewis added a goal. Lewis led the way with 13 face-off wins, while Mirante added 11, as Conn went 1-3 on the power play and 1-2 on the penalty kill.
McDevitt got the win in goal, finishing with 34 saves. Judge led the way with three points on one goal and two assists, while five other Cardinals tallied two points. Wesleyan finished 2-3 on the penalty kill and 1-2 on the power play.
Conn (7-8-1, 3-6-1 NESCAC) returns home on Friday night as the Camels host Williams at 7:00 p.m. in Dayton Arena.
