MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore forward Nick Leonard (Methuen, Mass.) scored a goal and an assist while eight other Hawks chipped in with a point as the Saint Anselm men's hockey team picked up a huge 5-1 victory over Franklin Pierce Wednesday evening at Sullivan Arena.
The game, which had been postponed from Tuesday on account of treacherous weather conditions, featured two teams in need of points to keep pace in the Northeast-10 league race. The important win improves Saint Anselm to 4-5-1 overall and 1-1-1 in league play with just two NE-10 matchups for the Hawks remaining on its 2014-15 schedule.
Just as the first power play expired for Saint Anselm, freshman defenseman Easton Miller (Mission Viejo, Calif.) scored his second goal of the season in his second straight game—a glove-side score from outside the right circle. Senior forward Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore forward CJ Blaszka (Brookfield, Conn.) tallied assists on the play, working the right side of the offensive zone before playing the puck out to Easton for the one-timer through traffic.
Freshman forward Kevin Dazkevich (West Hartford, Conn.) made it 2-0 Hawks after carrying the puck in the left side, finding Leonard in the corner who played it behind the right side of the net to Kody Grondin (Hampton, N.H.). Grondin then found a streaking Dazkevich who flipped it over the pad of Raven goaltender Tom McGuckin.
After Franklin Pierce (2-9, 2-3 NE-10) shaved the lead to 2-1 right before the first intermission on a Brett Oldaker goal, Saint Anselm returned from the break with continued spirited skating. Junior defenseman Tyler Estee (Bow, N.H.) put away a power play goal from straight on outside the circles, beating McGuckin between the pads on an assist from senior forward Joey Agliato (Hauppage, N.Y.).
Facing a 5-on-4 situation, junior forward Mark Meads (Middleton, Mass.) tallied his first goal of the season in short-handed fashion on a breakaway. Streaking up the left side of the sheet, he found senior forward Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass.) on the left side of the crease. McGuckin denied Daniels' shot, but deflected the puck right back to Meads who flipped it top shelf to put the Hawks up 4-1.
Sophomore defenseman Lonnie Taylor's (Raymond, Maine) deep power play shot in the third period was pad-saved by McGuckin, but another unlucky bounce put the rebound right on Leonard's stick, who lifted it into the right side to cap off a two-point day.
Freshman goaltender Shane Joyce (Pembroke, Mass.), who made some un-freshman-like plays throughout the game, recorded 22 saves and climbed above the .500 mark for the first time this season with a 4-3-1 record as a starter.
Saint Anselm took advantage of its power play opportunities, going 2-for-8 on Estee and Leonard's tallies. The Hawks also outshot the Ravens 44-23 for the game, controlling the flow from the opening faceoff.
With the Hawks' offensive cylinders firing, and a defense that is seemingly settling in, Saint Anselm will pump the brakes in hopes to store up that momentum as it heads into the holiday break. The Hawks will return to action Friday, January 2 in a 7 p.m. matchup against SUNY-Potsdam at Sullivan Arena.
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