Neumann University Athletics

WILKES BARRE, Pa. - A rough second period doomed the Neumann University men's ice hockey team on Friday evening as the Knights fell by a score of 7-2 in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.
 
Richie Brusco and Dillon Manchester scored for the Knights in the defeat, while Kyle Pantalone and Cal Ambrose combined for 44 saves between the pipes on the night.
 
Neumann played an excellent opening road 20 minutes, keeping the Colonels at bay despite a heavy shot deficit of 13-5 in favor of the hosts. Pantalone was outstanding, stopping all 13 shots he faced, setting the stage for Brusco to open the scoring at the 10:12 mark on the power play to give the Knights a 1-0 advantage. The visitors clung to that lead all the way to intermission, heading to the dressing room up a goal.
 
The second stanza would not go as planned for Neumann though. A quick power play goal from Wilkes at 1:43 of the period evened up the contest and completely flipped the momentum of the matchup. The Colonels then took their first lead just 2:19 later, scoring again on the man-advantage to send the Knights into a panic. The hosts would tally twice more in the next 1:39 of game play to blow the game wide open at 4-1. Things got worse later in the period, when another power play marker from Wilkes made it 5-1 and completely took the wind out of the visitors' sails. The game would head to the third period at the same score.
 
The Colonels' scoring barrage continued into the final frame, as the hosts lit the lamp for a sixth time at the 11:40 mark to make it 6-1. Neumann got a goal back from Manchester with 4:07 to play in the contest, but Wilkes punctuated the night with a seventh goal with 2:28 left in the game to seal the comfortable 7-2 conference win.
 
Neumann (6-9-1, 3-6-1 UCHC) will get right back to action tomorrow when the team heads to King's College. The game is slated to begin at 7:00 PM.