BROCKPORT, N.Y. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team dropped a heartbreaker in their first game back from winter break on Friday evening, falling by a score of 5-4 to SUNY Brockport in non-conference action.
 
Barry Kneedler was a dominant force for the Knights on the evening, scoring a hat trick on a team high eight shots. Evan Hoey also scored for Neumann, while Richie Brusco chipped in with two assists. Mike Cosentino made 29 saves in goal in the defeat.
 
A chippy first period of play saw more penalties on the board than goals, as each team spent several minutes in the box. Brockport outshot the Knights by a count of 14-5 but Cosentino was strong in the frame to keep the game scoreless as the game headed to intermission.
 
A Golden Eagle penalty early in the second stanza gave Neumann a power play opportunity that the visitors would cash in on. After being thwarted throughout the first frame on the man advantage, the Knights would not be denied this time as Kneedler found the back of the net off assists from Brusco and Tommy Dougherty just 3:39 into the frame. The 1-0 lead would not last though, as Brockport struck back to tie the game at one apiece with just under five minutes to play in the period, sending the game to the third tied at 1-1.
 
The final 20 minutes of play would be a wild affair. Kneedler scored his seventh goal of the season unassisted at 2:29 to give the Knights a 2-1 lead, but the Golden Eagles answered right back just over a minute later to tie the game 2-2 at the 3:35 mark.
 
A five-minute major penalty to Brockport midway through the period swung the momentum right back to Neumann though, as the visitors used the man-advantage to fire home two tallies to build a two-goal lead with 7:01 left to play. Hoey broke the deadlock with the first goal on the power play to make it 3-2, before Kneedler found the back of the net to complete his hat trick for the team's fourth goal of the night.
 
The Knights did their best to hold off a late Brockport onslaught, but the Golden Eagles threw everything they had at the visitors in the final seven minutes. The hosts got right back into the game with a goal just a minute and a half after Kneedler's goal to cut the lead to 4-3 with 5:30 left to play. Neumann held onto the lead until the final two minutes of play, but Brockport was able to find an equalizing goal with 1:45 left on the clock. Things would only get worse for the visitors from there, as the Golden Eagles again lit the lamp with a game-winning goal with just 21 seconds left in the contest. The Knights pulled Cosentino for an extra attacker in the game's waning moments, but there was not enough time to get things level as the game finished 5-4 in favor of the hosts.
 
Neumann (3-8-0) will look to get back into the win column tomorrow afternoon when the team heads to #3 SUNY Geneseo. Puck-drop for the non-conference matchup is slated for 4:00 PM.