MALBOROUGH, Mass.- Johnson & Wales University defeated Becker College 5-2 in ECAC Northeast men's ice hockey action Friday evening at the New England Sports Center.

The Wildcats (8-7-3, 4-3-2 ECAC ) got on the board 10:50 into the first period when Aaron Arm (Plantation, Fla.) blasted a shot from the right point, beating Becker goalie Tyler Stepke (Mars, Pa.) top shelf.

The Ice Hawks (6-11-1, 2-6-1 ECAC) tied the game with 1:42 remaining in the first on a Brandon Morgan (Rochester, N.Y.) power-play goal.

Johnson & Wales broke the 1-1 tie 2:51 into the second period when Alan Boozer (Detroit, Mich.) found a space between the right post and Stepke's left leg pad. The Wildcats increased their lead with 7:23 left in the second stanza when Cody Sarmiento (Sarasota, Fla.) put back rebound off of a Matt Lanzillotti (Granby, Conn.) shot.

With the Ice Hawks trialing 3-1 heading into the third period, Brandon Morgan brought the Becker within striking distance when he intercepted a centering pass, taking it the length of the ice to cut the Wildcats lead to 3-2. The Ice Hawks had plenty of chances to tie the game as Johnson & Wales committed two major penalties. The Wildcats were able to kill both penalties to preserve their 3-2 advantage. With 1:13 remaining in regulation Ben Brouillard (Somerset, Mass.) scored an empty netter to give the Wildcats the 4-2 lead.  Conner Bates (Laconia, N.H.) sealed the 5-2 victory with another empty netter with 56 seconds left on the clock.

Johnson & Wales netminder Joey Ballmer (Kalamazoo, Mich.) turned away 31 shots, including 12 in the third period to earn the victory. Tyler Stepke suffered the loss after making 21 saves.