ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team bounced back from a tough loss Friday night with a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind victory on Saturday afternoon over visiting Elmira College in a pivotal United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) matchup.
 
Clay Boyd played the hero on the day for the Knights with the game-winning goal, while Glenn Florczak (2 g), Thomas Mansbridge (2 a) and Danny Cangelosi (2 a) all recorded two-point days. Kyle Pantalone was strong in goal, picking up the win with 35 saves on 38 shots.
 
The first frame was a relatively quiet affair with each team finding little in the way of scoring chances. Elmira had the best chance to find the back of the net at the 16 minute mark, but a sliding post to post save from Pantalone kept the game scoreless after one. The Soaring Eagles carried a 14-8 edge in shots into the second.
 
The game would come to life in the second stanza, with Elmira drawing first blood very early in the frame. The Soaring Eagles scored just 38 seconds into the period to take a 1-0 lead, then doubled their advantage six minutes later to make it 2-0 with 13:17 left in the frame. Neumann did not go away though, using two power plays in the second half of the period to their benefit. Florczak cut the deficit to one at 10:17 on the man-advantage after banging home a loose puck in the crease off the rebound of a Mansbridge point shot. The Knights then received a bit of puck-luck late in the stanza, when a Cangelosi slapper caromed off the glass behind the Elmira net and ended up behind the Soaring Eagle net-minder. Florczak was again there to clean up the garbage as he knocked home his second goal of the contest to knot things up at 2-2 heading to the third.
 
Neumann kept its power play momentum rolling into the final frame, converting for a third time with an extra man just 2:37 into the period to take a 3-2 lead. This time the Knights needed just three seconds of power play time to find the back of the net as a Tommy Dougherty face-off win led to a howitzer from the point by Barry Kneedler that flew past the Elmira goaltender to give the hosts the lead. Neumann had a great chance to widen its lead with a two-man advantage just after scoring, but the Knights could not light the lamp again as the game remained 3-2.
 
After being dominated by the hosts early in the period, Elmira came to life midway through the frame. The Soaring Eagles answered back with an equalizer at the 10:17 mark. Pantalone stopped the original shot, but Elmira swatted home the rebound to make it 3-3 and set up a frenetic finish. The visitors had a golden opportunity to retake the lead with a power play in the final three minutes, but superb penalty killing from the Knights kept the game tied with under a minute to go. Boyd then became the hero of the afternoon with an incredible individual effort. The junior forward blocked a shot in his own zone, outraced a Soaring Eagle to the loose puck in the neutral zone and then found the roof of the net on a silky backhander to give Neumann the lead for good with just 43 seconds to go. Elmira pulled their goalie late for an extra attacker, but the visitors couldn't get anything past Pantalone as the game finished 4-3 in favor of the Knights.
 
Neumann (7-13-0, 5-6-0 UCHC) will look to continue to rise in the UCHC standings next weekend when it hits the road for a pair of contests. The Knights will take on Stevenson University on Friday, February 7th at 7:00 PM.