MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Kevin Vanous (Virginia Beach, Va.) netted a hat trick as the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team outlasted the University of New England, 6-4, Friday night at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks, who are now 5-2-2 in their last nine games, improve to 5-5-2 on the season, including 3-3-2 in ECAC East play. The Nor'easters, meanwhile, drop to 5-9-1, 2-6-0 ECAC East.
Eight different skaters recorded a point for Saint Anselm, while Vanous was the only one who produced a multiple-point performance.
Trailing 2-0 after one period of play, the Hawks erupted for four goals in the middle stanza. Vanous started the party with a power-play tally at the 9:32 mark as he stuck with his own rebound to put the Hawks on the board. Vanous received a feed in front from sophomore Bryan Sullivan (Burlington, Mass.) and released a quick shot from the low slot that was stopped by UNE goaltender Colby Drost. The puck came right back to Vanous, who jammed it into the right side of the net to cut the Saint Anselm deficit in half.
The Hawks tied it just 1:06 later when senior Joe Tebano (Glastonbury, Conn.) intercepted a UNE clearing pass in the left circle and rifled a shot into the top right corner to even the score at 2-2.
Skating 4-on-4, Saint Anselm grabbed its first lead of the game with 52.3 seconds on the clock in the period after taking advantage of another Nor'easter turnover. A UNE defender attempted clear the puck from in front of the net on his backhand, but it was stopped at the top of the right circle by sophomore Jon Ahern (Melrose, Mass.), who turned and skated to the high slot where he backhanded a high shot through traffic and into the top right corner, beating Drost glove side to make it 3-2. The goal was the first of Ahern's career.
The Hawks were not finished in the period, however, as they added another goal to go on top, 4-2, with 16.0 seconds left. Sophomore Tyler Estee (Bow, N.H.) received the puck from senior Greg Crovo (Melrose, Mass.) at the left circle boards and fired a centering pass to the middle of the slot, where the puck ricocheted off the right skate of junior Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass.) and just inside the right post.
UNE would not go quietly, though, as it trimmed its deficit to just a single goal 3:12 into the third period on the power play. Chris Glover sent a pass from the top of the left circle to the near endline, where Zach Lokey used a quick touch pass across the slot to get the puck to the bottom of the right circle for Nick Kolb, who snuck his shot between the right post and the pads of senior goaltender Nick Dries (Commerce Township, Mich.).
Kolb struck again on the same five-minute major just 1:11 later when he cleaned up a loose rebound. Jared Melman skated through the right circle and snapped off a shot that was gloved by Dries, but the puck popped loose in front and Kolb batted it in five-hole to knot the game at 4-all.
Saint Anselm nearly stole the lead back with 5:20 to play in regulation, but a blistering wrister off the stick of sophomore Mark Meads (Middleton, Mass.) rang off the crossbar. The Hawks broke through 42 seconds later, however, when a shot from the right point by senior Alex Pascal (Blue Bell, Pa.) was stopped by Drost, but the puck caromed out to his right where Vanous put it into the back of the net to make it 5-4. Freshman Peter Sikalis (Acton, Mass.) was also credited with an assist on the play.
Things grew more interesting when Dries was whistled for a penalty with 1:12 remaining in the game and was sent to the penalty box. Senior Robert Kang (Glen Rock, N.J.) replaced Dries, but he was not put to the test and the Hawks sealed it on Vanous' empty netter with 28 seconds on the clock.
Dries made 17 saves, while Drost stopped 41 shots. Saint Anselm outshot UNE, 47-28, including 16-1 in the middle period. The Hawks were just 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Nor'easters went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage.
After a scoreless first nine minutes of the opening period, UNE struck for a pair of goals just 1:09 apart. The Nor'easters first goal came on the power play when Sam Vikich's shot from the top of the right circle was turned away to the left by Dries, but Melman crashed the net and buried the puck past the diving Dries. Patrick Borer was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
Chris Harlow picked up the second goal as he received a feed from Connor Bates at the left post and dragged the puck across the slot to the right post before flipping a backhander into the net. Tom Gildersleeve also earned an assist on the play.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 11 at 3 p.m. when they play host to the University of Southern Maine at Sullivan Arena. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
