ASTON, Pa. – The Neumann University men's ice hockey team suffered a heartbreaking defeat in United College Hockey Conference (UCHC) action on Saturday afternoon, falling by a score of 5-4 in overtime to visiting Wilkes University.

Tommy Dougherty and Ryan Swain each tallied a goal and an assist in the loss, while Richie Brusco chipped in with a pair of assists. Sammy Bernard got the start in net and made 41 saves.

The first period was a wild back and forth affair for both teams. The Knights received the game's first four power plays in the opening ten minutes of play including a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage, but Neumann could not capitalize as the game remained scoreless. The hosts would finally cash in right after their fourth power play though, when Swain found the back of the net at 12:39 to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. The next four minutes saw each team go back and forth. Wilkes scored to tie the contest at the 14:51 mark, before Cullen Chin scored his second goal in as many days to put Neumann back in front. The lead would be short-lived though, as the Colonels answered back just 28 seconds later to knot the contest up at 2-2 to send the game to intermission tied.

The second stanza would be all Knights. Despite being outshot by a count of 17-9, Neumann tallied twice in the frame via goals from Dougherty and Chris Caldwell to take a 4-2 lead into the third. Bernard was at his best in the period, stopping all 17 shots he faced to keep the two-goal cushion intact for the Knights.

Neumann looked to hold on for their first win of the season in the final frame, but Wilkes had other ideas. The Knights earned a power play early in the period and looked to add an insurance marker to the scoreboard, but it would be the Colonels who would strike. The visitors notched two shorthanded goals in a span of just 45 seconds to stun Neumann and tie the contest at four apiece with under 13 minutes left to play. Both teams had chances to win the game late on, but each goaltender came up big as the game headed to overtime.

Wilkes took the action to the Knights early in the extra session. The Colonels registered the only four shots of the overtime and found a game-winner at the 1:42 mark of the period to clinch the 5-4 conference win.

Neumann (0-9-2, 0-5-2 UCHC) will have a week to regroup before playing host to Manhattanville College next Friday, December 7^th. Puck-drop for the UCHC contest is scheduled for 7:00 PM.