ASTON, Pa. - After almost a year without sports at Neumann University, the playing drought was officially ended on Friday evening, as the men's ice hockey team skated to a 4-2 win over Chatham University in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.

Danny Cangelosi (1 g, 1 a) and Tommy Dougherty (2 a) paced the Neumann attack on the evening, each tallying two points a piece. Clay Boyd, Tom McGuire and Dillon Manchester also scored for the Knights, who received 23 saves in goal from Kyle Pantalone.

Exactly 345 days after Neumann last hosted a sporting event, the men's ice hockey team returned the school to athletic competition with a flourish. Prior to the game the team honored its six seniors, setting the tone for an emotional return to the ice.

Unfortunately for the Knights, the return was a bit too emotional early on, as a major penalty just two minutes into the game resulted in a five minute power play for Chatham. Neumann did well to kill off the first half of the major, but a second penalty by the Knights created a 5-on-3 man-advantage for the Cougars. The visitors would make Neumann pay on the two-man advantage, scoring at the 7:07 mark of the frame to take a 1-0 lead. The hosts responded for the remainder of the period though, outshooting Chatham by a count of 12-5 in the opening 20 minutes. The Knights would use a power play of their own late in the period to equalize the contest. Boyd finished off a nifty passing sequence from Dougherty and Cangelosi with a wrist shot from just outside the crease to tie the game up at one apiece as the game moved to the second stanza.

Neumann wasted no time continuing its momentum into the middle frame. Freshman defenseman Tom McGuire picked a great time to score his first career collegiate goal, absolutely wiring a wrist shot from the high slot into the top shelf to give the Knights their first lead at 2-1. Neumann continued to control play throughout the period and capped off the stanza with another goal from a newcomer. After a Devin Joyce shot from the point rebounded off the Chatham goaltender, Manchester scooped up the juicy rebound, then deked the goalie and found the back of the net to put the hosts up by a pair heading to the third.

The Cougars made the game interesting midway through the final frame, scoring at the 12:47 mark to cut the Neumann lead back to one at 3-2. That was as close as the visitors would get though, as the Knights were able to apply sustained pressure in the Chatham end for much of the final five minutes. Cangelosi sealed the contest with just over two minutes to play, honoring himself on senior night by tipping home a shot from the point to make it 4-2 in favor of the hosts. The Knights would hang on the rest of the way and clinch the season-opening victory by the same score.

Neumann (1-0) will have a week off before hitting the road for it's next UCHC matchup at Elmira College on Friday, February 26th. Puck-drop in New York is scheduled for 4:00 PM.