MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm men's ice hockey team opened its first homestand with a bang this evening, defeating the Assumption College Ice Dogs 11-2 in Sullivan Arena.  Juniors Paul Snell (Groton, Mass.) and Coleman Noonan (Norfolk, Mass.) both scored a team-high four points in the game, and four additional Hawks notched three points apiece.  The win lifts the Hawks to 2-1 (1-1 ECAC East, 1-0 NE-10), while the Ice Dogs fall to 3-4 (3-1 NE-10).

The Hawks did not waste any time, as freshman Bryan Luther (Scituate, R.I.) scored his first career goal on a power play just 2:57 into the game.  Midway through the period, junior Ryan Butler (Arlington, Mass.) scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway shot, assisted by Coleman Noonan and Evan Gogonis (Northborough, Mass.), who both notched four and three assists in the game, respectively.  Snell then scored a second shorthanded goal, the eventual game-winner, assisted by freshman Tucker Mullin (Andover, Mass.).  Last week's Freshman of the Week, Mike Richard (Derry, N.H.), laced a slap shot from just inside the blue line to run the score to 4-0 Hawks at the end of the first.

The Ice Dogs finally got on the board, early in the second period, as sophomore Pat O'Kane (Hollis, N.H.) snuck a shorthanded goal past Alex Wyse (Amherst, N.Y.) to score his 10th goal of the season. Taylor Larsen (Blackstone, Mass.) picked up his 10th assist on the play.  However, at 12:21, Larsen got a five-minute major penalty for hitting from behind, and the Hawks capitalized on the advantage, scoring three goals before the end of the penalty.  Freshman John Hyslip (Andover, Mass.) scored two in a row, picking up his first two career points.

Early in the third period, Jim Toomey (Billerica, Mass.) and Andrew Kacz (North Dighton, Mass.), each scored their first goals of the season, just 19 seconds apart.  A Hawk penalty at 12:51 gave the Ice Dogs a power play, and just five seconds into it, Jon Retelle (Monmouth, Maine) netted his first goal of the season.  Before the final buzzer, Tucker Mullin and Mike Richard would add two more Hawk goals for a final score of 11-2.

Five goaltenders saw ice time in tonight's competition, three for the Ice Dogs and two for the Hawks.  Sophomore Nick Blanchette (Stuart, Fla.) started in goal for the Ice Dogs, making 16 saves and allowing three goals to get the loss, before being replaced just 9:05 into the first period.  Classmate Steve DiDomenico (Lowell, Mass.) took over for the next 27:08 minutes, making 21 saves and allowing four goals.  Senior Jamie DiGiulio (Peabody, Mass.) closed out the game for the Ice Dogs, making six saves and allowing four goals in 23:47 minutes of play.

Junior Alex Wyse made his second start of the season, stopping 22 shots in 47:25 minutes and allowing just one goal, to pick up his second win of the season.  Freshman Corey Cotnoir (Bow, N.H.) played the final 12:35 of the game, making two saves and allowing one power-play goal.

The Hawks' 11 goals were the most the team has scored in a game since March 1, 2005, when Saint Anselm defeated Stonehill 12-1 in the Northeast-10 Semifinals.  After registering four assists in tonight's game, Noonan is tied for second in the conference in assists (6) and fourth in points (7).  Mike Richard is the top freshman scorer in the conference, followed closely by Mullin in fifth with four points.  Additionally, Richard is second in the entire conference in goals (4). The Hawks are the only team in the league to have any players with more than one shorthanded point, and four members of the team do.  Ryan Butler is the only player in the league with two shorthanded goals.  Freshman Evan Gogonis is fifth in defenseman scoring, after picking up three assists tonight. Wyse's 2.06 goals against average places him in third among ECAC goalies, and he is in fourth with .918 save percentage.  The Hawks also have the best scoring offense in the league, averaging 5.67 goals per game, for a total of 17.

The Hawks' homestand continues this weekend with visits from two tough NESCAC conference teams.  They will host the Connecticut College Camels at 7:00 pm on Friday and the Tufts University Jumbos at 3:00 pm on Saturday.