Cougars claw past AMCATS for 8-5 victory

Worcester, Mass. – Powered by the second hat trick of the season by Eugene Arsenault (South Portland, Maine), host Clark snapped its three-game losing streak with a hard fought 8-5 win over Worcester-area rival Anna Maria on Granger Field Wednesday evening.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 4-7, while the AMCATS, who have now dropped six consecutive games, slip to 4-10.

Clark raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter behind a pair of goals from Arsenault and one each from Nick Figliola (Weston, Conn.), Danny Heelan(Avon, Conn.) and Phil Winslow (Providence, R.I.).

Anna Maria answered before the period ended with an unassisted Chris Summers (Long Valley, N.J.) score to make the game 5-1 after the opening frame.

The Cougars tacked on two more in the second stanza as Chris Johnson(Amherst, Mass.) set up Heelan on the man up advantage and then freshmen Tim Day (Hallowell, Maine) and Jonah Bass (Amherst, Mass.) teamed up for Day's third marker of the season, upping the lead to 7-1 midway through the quarter.

The AMCATS, however, put up a fight as Summers, Jaron Dalbeck (Princeton, Mass.), Rodrigo Henriques (Saugus, Mass.), and Mike Sauliner (Wrentham, Mass.) all found the back of the net to make the game 7-5, with less than five minutes gone by in the fourth quarter.

A little more than two minutes later, Day found Arsenault for the insurance goal the Cougars needed to secure the win.

In addition to Arsenault's huge night, Heelan had a pair of goals and Day and Figliola each had a goal and an assist.

Summers recorded two goals for Anna Maria and netminder Andrew Ellis (Fitchburg, Mass.) turned back 11 shots.

Andrew Devito (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Kevin Ranta (Beverly, Mass.) split time in goal for the Cougars and they combined to make seven saves.

Clark returns to Pilgrim League play on Saturday with a 7:00 p.m. matchup with Massachusetts-Maritime, while the AMCATS will look to snap their skid with a noon showdown with Regis on Saturday as well.

Release Courtesy of Clark Sports Information

Photo Courtesy of David Sheridan for AMC Sports Information