AMHERST, MASS. - The Saint Anselm men's hockey team travelled to Amherst, Mass., this evening to take on the No. 11 Amherst College Lord Jeffs in inter-conference play.  In a back-and-forth battle, the Hawks came out victorious, defeating the No. 11 Lord Jeffs 4-3.  The win jumps the Hawks into second place with a record of 12-8-1 (9-7-1 ECAC East), while the Lord Jeffs fall to second place in the NESCAC at 15-4-3 (10-4-3 NESCAC).

The Lord Jeffs struck first, as Eddie Effinger netted his 10th goal of the season at 11:21 in the first period.  The Jeffs held their lead for almost a full period, until Saint Anselm freshman Tucker Mullin (Andover, Mass.) drove in an unassisted, shorthanded goal at 7:52 in the second, scoring his seventh goal in three games and tying the game at one.  Four minutes later, Mullin set up Paul Snell (Groton, Mass.) for a second shorthanded goal to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.  The Hawks now lead all Division II/III men's hockey teams in the nation with nine shorthanded goals.

The Hawks' one-goal lead lasted just over five minutes, when Andrew Stevenson knocked in a goal for the Lord Jeffs to knot the score at two goals apiece.  At 10:04 in the third, Gavin Carson flipped in a power-play goal to regain the Jeffs' lead, 3-2.  Nevertheless, just three minutes later at 13:17, freshman Timothy King (Weymouth, Mass.) scored a power-play goal of his own to tie the score once again.  Fifty-one seconds later, Mike Richard (Derry, N.H.) finally settled the score, as he knocked in the game-winner and gave the Hawks a 4-3 victory over the nationally-ranked Jeffs.

Junior Alex Wyse (Amherst, N.Y.) made 30 saves, en route to his third victory this week, and Cole Anderson turned aside 17 shots in the loss.  The Hawks return home on Tuesday night, February 16th, when they host the Salem State College Vikings in their final non-conference game of the season.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm.