ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team continued its recent unbeaten run on Friday evening, picking up a comfortable 9-1 victory over United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) rival Lebanon Valley College to make it four straight games without a loss (3-0-1).
The Knights received two goals apiece from
Chris Caldwell,
Thomas Mansbridge and
JC Moritz on the evening, while
Dan Cangelosi added three assists and
Zac Boyle tallied a goal and two assists.
Mike Cosentino continued his outstanding run of play in goal, picking up his third win of the season with 38 saves.
The first period would be evenly played with the Knights holding a narrow 11-10 edge in shots. The slim shot advantage led to a one goal lead at intermission, as
Zac Boyle recorded his seventh goal of the season on the team's lone first period power play to give Neumann a 1-0 lead at the break.
The hosts then caught fire in the second stanza. Neumann blitzed the Dutchmen for three goals in the opening five minutes of the frame to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Mansbridge rifled home a laser of a one-timer to make it 2-0, Caldwell banged home a rebound for the third goal, then
Joe Mitchell wired home a pass from Boyle off a face-off to put the Knights up by four.
Lebanon Valley answered back with a goal of its own at the 7:08 mark to make it 4-1, but it was all Neumann from there. The Knights registered four more goals late in the period to make it 8-1 after two. Moritz scored twice from the point, Caldwell recorded his second goal of the game and
Tommy Dougherty scored on a shorthanded breakaway to give the Knights a seven goal lead headed to the third.
With the game in hand, Neumann continued to build its lead in the final frame. Mansbridge capped off the scoring with a goal off a slick pass from Cangelosi to make it 9-1. The hosts cruised from there, as Cosentino made 16 third period saves to close out the win.
Neumann (3-12-3, 2-6-3 UCHC) will look to continue to climb the conference standings tomorrow when it heads to Elmira College. Puck-drop for the pivotal conference contest is scheduled for 7:00 PM.
