MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior forward Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass.) scored the Hawks' lone goal midway through the third period, but the Saint Anselm men's hockey team dropped a 5-1 decision to unbeaten Norwich in front of a lively 759 fans at Sullivan Arena Friday evening.

Daniels' goal, his third of the season, came on a 5-on-3 power play off assists from forward Bryan Sullivan (Burlington, Mass.) and defenseman Tyler Estee (Bow, N.H.)—both season-first assists for the junior classmates.

Norwich (5-0, 4-0 ECAC East) exerted its physical presence with powerful skating across the ice sheet. Friday's spirited affair saw 12 infractions and 35 minutes' worth of penalties between the two teams.

The Cadets opened the scoring with season-first power play goal by Paul Russell and then added two more put-aways in the second period on goals from Ryan Whitell and Austin Surowiec to take a commanding 3-0 lead into the second intermission.

Needing to make up a two-goal deficit after Daniels' tally, the Hawks pulled freshman goaltender Shane Joyce (Pembroke, Mass.) late in the third period in favor of another scoring threat, but Saint Anselm failed to control the puck as a pair of Norwich empty-netters inflated the final score to 5-1.

Joyce tallied a career-high 32 saves on the evening but fell to 2-2 overall in his rookie season.

Saint Anselm will have little time to dwell on Friday's loss as it moves on to host Saint Michael's College Saturday afternoon. The 4 p.m. matchup at Sullivan Arena will be of dual importance as the outcome will count toward both teams' ECAC East and Northeast-10 conference points. The game will also be the second half of a double-header with the women's program, which hosts Nichols College at 1 p.m.

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.