NASHUA, N.H. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team bounced back from a tough loss Friday evening with a 5-2 come-from-behind victory on the road at Rivier University in non-conference action.
Nick Martino (1 g, 2 a),
Richie Brusco (2 a),
Barry Kneedler (1 g, 1 a) and
Luke Croucher all recorded multi-point days, while
Joe DiGiulio and
Brady Mistler also scored on the afternoon.
Cal Ambrose picked up the win in goal by making 26 saves on 28 shots.
Looking to get back into the win column after a late loss Friday evening, things did not start well for the Knights in Saturday's matinee. Neumann conceded twice in the opening three minutes to dig itself an early hole at 2-0 in favor of the hosts. The Knights would not panic though, fighting back with 10 first frame shots of their own to work their way back into the game. One of those 10 shots found the back of the net midway through the period, as DiGiulio lit the lamp at the 12:47 mark to bring the visitors back to within a goal at 2-1 and send the team to intermission with a bit of momentum moving into the second.
Neumann used that momentum to its advantage almost instantaneously in the second stanza, as Martino buried his team-leading eighth goal of the season just 42 seconds into the period to level the contest up at 2-2. Rivier carried a 12-8 edge in shots in the frame, but Ambrose kept the hosts at bay by stopping every shot he saw to keep things tied up heading to the third.
After falling on a late goal in the third last night, the Knights were eager to flip the script in today's matchup. Using a power-play early in the period, Kneedler ripped home his sixth goal of the season to put Neumann in front at 3-2, then Croucher provided an insurance marker two minutes later at the 4:40 mark to give the visitors some breathing room. The Knights then put on a defensive clinic from there, holding Rivier to just six shots in the period as they grinded out the final 15 minutes. The score-line remained the same until late in the contest, when Mistler iced the game with a goal at 17:57 to clinch the 5-2 non-conference victory.
Neumann (4-6-1) will have the remainder of the semester off before returning to the ice on Monday, January 3rd at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. Puck-drop for the non-conference matchup is slated for 3:40 PM.
