LOWELL, Mass. –  The Johnson & Wales University men's ice hockey team skated to a 4-4 tie with Becker in an ECAC Northeast Contest at Lynch Arena/BVSC on Saturday evening. 

Johnson & Wales struck early when freshman Drew Kariofiles (Cincinnati, Ohio) put in a pass from freshman Stefan Brucato (Lake Elsinore, Calif.) and sophomore forward Josh Obregon (Omaha, Neb.) just :55 into the game for the 1-0 advantage.  The Wildcats took the 1-0 lead into the locker room at the first intermission with an 11-7 lead in shots for the period.

The Wildcats first line upped the lead to 2-0 just :46 into the second stanza, this time with Brucato scoring with assists to Obregon and Kariofiles on a power play goal.  Becker cut the lead to 2-1 at the 3:32 mark on a power play goal by sophomore Francis Musick (Laurel Hills, N.J.).  JWU responded quickly, however and capitalized on another power play goal from freshman Matt Lanzillotti (Chicago, Ill.) to put the Wildcats up 3-1 at the 8:45 mark.  Less than two minutes later, an unassisted power play goal by freshman Michael Mazzotta (Mars, Pa.) gave JWU the 4-1 advantage, a margin they would take into the locker room after two periods of play.

At the 4:01 mark of the third period, an unassisted tally by freshman Kyle Godfrey (Geneva, Ill.) cut the JWU lead to 4-2.  Becker freshman Nicholas McKee (Bakersfield, Calif.) used a shorthanded goal with assists to Musick and junior Justin Erhart (St. Paul, Minn.) to make the score 4-3.  The visiting Hawks completed the comeback with just 1:39 remaining in regulation when Musick's second goal of the game knotted the contest at 4-4.  Johnson & Wales had an 8-2 advantage in the five minute overtime period, but couldn't convert as the game ended in the 4-4 tie.

Freshman Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.) made 23 saves for Johnson & Wales while sophomore Gregg Hussey (Medford, Mass.) had 31 stops for Becker.

With the tie Johnson & Wales is now 15-5-1 for the year and 5-4-1 in the ECAC Northeast while Becker is 2-13-3 overall and 1-5-3 in the league play.  The Wildcats will return to action on Thursday, February 13th when they host Curry in an ECAC Northeast contest at 7:40 p.m.