HERSHEY, Pa. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team returned to United College Hockey Conference (UCHC) action on Sunday afternoon, picking up two big road points in a 4-4 tie versus Lebanon Valley at the Giant Center.
 
Richie Brusco (1 goal, 1 assist) and Joe Mitchell (2 assists) carried the Knights offensively on the day with two points each, while Connor Annett, Clay Boyd and Ryan Swain also scored for the visitors. Sammy Bernard also continued his solid play in net, making 32 saves in the draw.
 
Despite having to kill two early penalties, Neumann opened the scoring midway through the first frame as Brusco fired in a puck off a feed from Mitchell to put the Knights up 1-0. The lead would last until the waning moments of the period, but a Flying Dutchmen goal with 45 seconds left to play sent the game in intermission level at one apiece. Shots in the opening twenty minutes favored the Knights by a count of 13-10.
 
Neumann continued to dominate the shot chart in the second stanza, but the team could not find the back of the net in the period on any of its 16 attempts. Lebanon Valley tallied the only marker of the frame at the 8:24 mark to take a 2-1 lead heading to the third.
 
The final period of play would be a roller coaster ride to the finish. The Knights conceded a shorthanded goal at 3:15 to fall two goals behind, but answered back on the same power-play just 25 seconds later via a goal from Boyd to get the score-line back to 3-2. Using another power play to its advantage three minutes later, Neumann then tied the game at three at the 6:46 mark with a goal from Annett.
 
The game would remain tied until the final four minutes of play. With the two teams playing 4-on-4, Lebanon Valley struck to make it 4-3 with 3:38 left to play. Despite the late deficit, the Knights would not quit. After pulling Bernard for an extra attacker with under a minute left to play, Neumann tallied the game-tying goal with 15 seconds left to play as Swain buried the equalizer off assists from Glenn Florczak and Mitchell to send the game to overtime.
 
Each team had thee shots and short power play chances in the extra session, but neither team could capitalize on their opportunities as the game went into the books officially as a tie. The Knights outshot the Flying Dutchmen 42-36.
 
With the game still tied after the five minute overtime, the two teams battled it out for the extra conference point in a 3-on-3 double overtime period. For the second time this season, the Knights would come out victorious in the new format. Swain was the hero again for Neumann, as he found the back of the net to give the visitors a much needed extra point in the UCHC standings.
 
Neumann (0-4-2, 0-2-2 UCHC) will get back to action with another road UCHC contest next Friday, November 16th at Chatham University. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:10 PM.