MANCHESTER, N.H. – Mike Richard (Derry, N.H.) set the tone with an early goal and was named the Championship Most Valuable Player as the top-seeded Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team captured its fourth straight Northeast-10 Championship with a 5-2 win against second-seeded Franklin Pierce University on Saturday afternoon at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks, who win their fourth consecutive conference title for the first time in program history, wrap up their season at 16-8-3. The Ravens finish at 9-13-3.
The Hawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead 4:56 into the contest when Tim King (Weymouth, Mass.) slid a quick pass from the far side of the right circle to the slot for Richard, who let go of a wrister that beat Franklin Pierce goaltender Dave O'Brien gloveside. Evan Gogonis (Northboro, Mass.) also earned an assist on the play.
Saint Anselm doubled its lead at the 10:25 mark of the opening period as Joe Tebano (Glastonbury, Conn.) skated into the zone and sent a shot from the top of the left circle that deflected off a defender's stick and wobbled under the glove arm of O'Brien.
Franklin Pierce put one in the net with 7:43 remaining in the first after Matt Lopes dropped the puck back at the near side of the right circle for Matt Batis, whose hard wrister beat Saint Anselm goaltender Nick Dries (Commerce Township, Mich.) to make it 2-1. Kyle Craig was also credited with an assist on the play.
Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass.) nearly gave the Hawks their two-goal lead back with 44.7 seconds left in the period on a wrister from the left circle, but O'Brien made a sprawling glove save to his left to deny the attempt.
The Hawks wound up pushing their lead to 3-1 3:07 into the second period when Greg Merrill (Brighton, Mich.) ripped a shot from the middle of the slot that found the back of the net after a feed from the right endline by John Hyslip (Andover, Mass.).
Saint Anselm extended its advantage to 4-1 at the 12:16 mark of the middle stanza after Bryan Luther (Scituate, R.I.) cleaned up a loose puck following a flurry of activity in front of the Franklin Pierce net. After a pair of shots from Alex Pascal (Blue Bell, Pa.) and Tebano were stopped by O'Brien, Luther came in at the right doorstep and jammed the puck in past the diving goaltender.
The Ravens trimmed their deficit to 4-2 at the 8:23 mark of the third period when Anthony Chighiso's pass from the right endline was quickly swept in past Dries on the doorstep by Michael Carr. Roscoe Sweeney also picked up an assist on the sequence.
The Hawks all but iced it with 5:16 to go when a one-timer from the slot by Bryan Sullivan (Burlington, Mass.) found the top right corner of the net after a pretty feed from the left endline by Eric Czapka (Holland, Pa.).
Gogonis and Merrill also joined Richard on the All-Championship Team.
Dries wrapped up his season at 10-2-0 overall after making 19 saves, including 10 in the second period. O'Brien stopped 41 shots, including 19 in the middle stanza.
Saint Anselm held a 46-21 advantage in shots, including 21-10 in the second. The Hawks' penalty kill also held the Ravens to just 1-for-9 on the power play.
This marked the final game for seniors Tucker Mullin (Andover, Mass.), Tyler Savage (Johns Creek, Ga.), Andrew Kacz (North Dighton, Mass.), Richard, King, Gogonis, Hyslip and Luther.
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