ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team picked up its second consecutive win on Friday evening, taking home a 5-3 victory over Chatham University in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.
 
Richie Brusco led the way for the Knights with a goal and two assists, while Zac Boyle (1 g, 1 a), Tommy Dougherty (2 a), Glenn Florczak (2 a) and Mario Tropea (1 g, 1 a) all chipped in with two points apiece. Evan Hoey and Barry Kneedler also scored for the Knights, who received 28 saves from goalie Kyle Pantelone.
 
A frenetic, back and forth first period saw the visitors open the scoring just 1:10 into the game, as a Cougar collected a rebound off of Pantelone's pads and deposited the puck into the net to give Chatham the early 1-0 lead.
 
Neumann fought back quickly though, getting back into the game with some strong play midway through the frame. The Knights leveled the contest at one apiece when Tropea marked his return to the lineup from injury with a slam dunk rebound goal at 8:41 after a Ryan Meyer shot from the point. Neumann then took its first lead barely over a minute later, as Brusco tallied his first goal of the season to put the hosts up 2-1.
 
The lead would not last long though, as a Neumann misplaced pass in the neutral zone created a breakaway for the Cougars that resulted in the visitors' second goal of the night with 9:39 left to play in the period. The score would remain the same heading to the first intermission with Chatham holding a 16-9 edge in shots.
 
In a reversal of the first frame script, the Knights came out during to open the second stanza. A beautiful tic-tac-toe passing sequence between Brusco and Tropea led to Hoey's first career Neumann goal at just the 1:03 mark of the period to put the hosts back on top by a score of 3-2. The Knights carried much of the play in the period, outshooting the Cougars 14-9 in the frame, but Neumann could not add to its one goal advantage. The team's best chance to score came with 2:30 left in the period as Cullen Chin ripped a puck off the post as the game remained 3-2 in favor of the Knights heading to the third.
 
In desperate need of an insurance marker to help ice the game, Neumann received just that courtesy of a two-man advantage early in the third period. Kneedler sniped home his third goal of the season with a rip from the point to give the Knights a much-needed two goal cushion. The game would remain that way until late in the contest, when Boyle capped off the Neumann scoring by banging home his own rebound for his fourth goal of the year at the 16:02 mark. The Cougars got a consolation goal in the final few minutes, but it was far too little, too late as Neumann skated away with the important 5-3 win.
 
Neumann (2-3-0, 2-3-0 UCHC) returns to the ice for another home game tomorrow, November 23rd versus rival Stevenson University. Puck-drop for the UCHC matchup is scheduled for 4:00 PM.