WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes men's ice hockey team scored four unanswered goals to defeat King's College at the Toyota SportsPlex on Friday night 5-3, clinching the MAC regular season championship in the process.

The Colonels improve to 15-7-2 overall with a 15-3-2 record in MAC play, while the Monarchs fall to 8-13-1 overall and 6-11-1 in conference play.

The visitors drew first blood five minutes into the first period, but Matt Carlson (Delmar, NY) had the response for Wilkes a few minutes later to tie the game back up. However, King's took a 2-1 lead into the break thanks to a score in the final seconds of the period.

Just three minutes into the second period the Monarchs added to their lead with a shorthanded goal, now up 3-1. Wilkes responded on the very same power play as Max Cocchi (Ludlow, MA) lit the lamp to make it a 3-2 contest. Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN) added an assist on the goal, playing in his 100^th career game. After the flurry of offense early, the score remained 3-2 heading into the final 20 minutes.

The Colonel offense came out of the period break white hot as Carlson scored less than a minute into the frame to equalize the game at three. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, Daniel Nau (Wake Forest, NC) scored the game-winner thanks to some tic-tac-toe passing from Nick Swain (Jackson, NJ) and Cocchi. Carter Jordan (Fort Collins, CO) put the exclamation point on the game with an empty net goal in the final seconds to seal the 5-3 win and the regular season championship.

Carlson led the Colonels with two goals and five shots, winning 9 of 13 from the faceoff circle. Jordan led the team on faceoffs with 11 wins, while Cocchi matched Carlson with two goal contributions (one goal, one assist). In net, Duncan Rolleman (New Hamburg, ON) made 21 saves.

Before the game, the team honored the life of former equipment manager Julia Mazur with a ceremonial puck drop as a part of the team's Julia Hockey Mazur Memorial Game celebrations.

The Colonels return to the SportsPlex tomorrow, February 15, for their regular-season finale against Alvernia University on Senior Day. Puck drop is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.