REISTERSTOWN, Md. - The Neumann University men's ice hockey team fell in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action on Friday evening, succumbing to Stevenson University by a score of 5-2.
 
Clay Boyd and Austin Boyle were the goal scorers for the Knights in the loss, while Tommy Dougherty assisted on both markers. Goalie Cal Ambrose made his season debut in goal, stopping 28 shots on the night.
 
Attempting to earn its first win since opening night versus Chatham, Neumann was eager to pick up points in the conference standings on Friday night in Maryland. The Mustangs had other ideas though, tallying twice in the opening 10 minutes to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. Despite the early deficit, the Knights fought back right away. Neumann cut the lead in half before intermission, notching a power play goal at the 15:29 mark via Boyd to make it 2-1 moving to the second.
 
The opening ten minutes of the second stanza were evenly played, but Stevenson took full control of the contest in the final half of the period. The Knights fired eight shots on the Mustang goal in the frame, but could not find the back of the net, The hosts then tacked on two unanswered goals late in the period to take a commanding 4-1 lead into the second intermission.
 
The visitors wouldn't go quietly on the evening, as Boyle scored for the second time in three games 4:17 into the final frame to bring the deficit back to two at 4-2. Stevenson snuffed out any chance of a comeback a minute later though, scoring a power play goal just over a minute later to take the wind out of the Neumann sails and all but seal the game. The hosts held on the rest of the way, capping the contest with an empty-netter to clinch the 6-2 conference win.
 
Neumann (1-2-2) will look to gain retribution tomorrow night when the two teams travel back to Aston for a rematch. Puck-drop at IceWorks is slated for 4:00 PM.