Hooksett, NH (February 8) - The Saint Anselm men's ice hockey team skated to a 6-1 victory over the Penmen of Southern New Hampshire University tonight. The Hawks scoring was led by a hat trick from senior Ryan Butler (Arlington, MA). The Hawks were the first to light the lamp at the 5:34 mark of the first period. Sophomore Mike Richard (Derry, NH) redirected a pass from behind the net from John Hyslip (Andover, MA) to beat Penmen netminder Tyler Holske (Attleboro, MA). The remainder of the period saw the Hawks possess the puck a majority of the time and pepper the Penmen goalie. The Penmen were able to tie up the game at 19:04 when Tyler Pascucci (North Reading, MA) picked of a pass in the Hawks end and was able to feed Brandon Sheehan (Bedford, MA) who snuck it by Hawks goaltender Robert Kang (Glen Rock,NJ). The teams entered the intermission tied 1-1. The Hawks out shot the Penmen 19-4 in the first period.
The start of the second period saw the Hawks came out and pick up where they left off before intermission. Their hard work paid off when they capitalized on a power play. Butler scored his first goal of the night on a rebound shot from Coleman Noonan (Norfolk, MA) and Ryan Holley (Owings, MD) at 5:07 to regain the lead for good. Butler wasn't done however. He scored his second goal on a rebound from a shot by Tucker Mullin (Andover, MA) at 7:25 and beat Penmen goalie to his right. Saint Anselm out shot the Penmen in the second period 31-4 and went into the final intermission with a 3-1 lead.
Sophomore Ryan Clark (Wadsworth, OH) scored his first collegiate goal 6:33 into the third period on a pass from John Penny (Shelton, CT). Five minutes later senior Paul Snell (Groton, MA) took an elbowing penalty putting the Hawks a man down. Thirty seconds into the penalty kill the hawks fore-check caused a Penmen skater to turnover the puck in their end. Clark scooped the loose puck and was able to make a tape to tape pass to a streaking Timothy King (Weymouth,MA) who snapped off a shot that rang two pipes on its way to the back of the net. The Hawks pushed the pace of the game and continued to apply pressure on the Penmen end of the ice. The Penmen drew a penalty at 18:47 giving the Hawks power play unit another chance. Butler got his third goal of the evening at 19:10 on a pass from Clark closing out his hat trick.
Saint Anselm goalie Robert Kang stopped 15 out of 16 shots while his counterpart Tyler Holske blocked 61 out of 67 shots.
The Hawks are now 10-6-2 overall and 3-1-0 in NE-10 play. The Hawks return home this Friday and Saturday to host NESCAC foes Hamilton and Amherst College. Friday's game is set for 7:00 pm and Saturday's game start is set for 4:00 pm at Sullivan Arena.
This weekends home games will support breast cancer awareness by hosting "Pink the Rink". Both the men's and women's ice hockey teams will wear commemorative uniforms to signify the event. Attendees to the game will be able to support breast cancer awareness by purchasing and wearing a "Pink the Rink" t-shirt. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society to support breast cancer research. Please come out to see some great games and support a great cause.
