MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass.) scored a power-play goal, but the second-seeded Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team suffered a 4-1 loss to third-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday evening in a Northeast-10 Championship semifinal matchup at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks wrap up their season at 10-12-4 overall, while the Penmen improve to 16-8-1 and advance to next Saturday's title game where they will play host to fourth-seeded Saint Michael's College.
Southern New Hampshire jumped on the board just 4:49 into the contest on some crisp passing on the power play. Jim Gabrione sent a pass behind the net from the right post for Joe Collins, who collected the puck and skated to the left circle before snapping off a feed across the slot to the far post where Jay Syliva knocked it in past senior goaltender Nick Dries (Commerce Township, Mich.).
The Penmen added a backbreaker of a goal on the power play with just 14 seconds left in the opening frame. Gabrione had an initial shot from the slot that was stopped by Dries and then jammed at it again before the puck came out to the right circle for Dane Caracino, who wristed the puck into the top left corner of the net for the 2-0 lead.
SNHU stretched the lead to 3-0 with 7:10 left in the second period when it took advantage of a Saint Anselm turnover in the Hawks' offensive zone. Connor Audycki jump-started the play with a breakout pass into the center-ice neutral zone for Sean McTiernan, who skated all the way into the slot before dishing the pass to his right for Zach Lubinski, who beat Dries gloveside.
Saint Anselm finally found the back of the net with 1:55 to play in the second stanza when Daniels buried his power-play tally. Daniels sent a feed across the slot from the right circle to the left circle, where senior Joe Tebano (Glastonbury, Conn.) deflected it to the left point for classmate Greg Merrill (Brighton, Mich.). Merrill delivered a quick pass back to the right circle for Daniels, who wristed the puck five-hole past SNHU goaltender Tyler Holske.
Collins then took the wind out of the Hawks' sails with a goal at the 7:14 mark of the third period. McTiernan and Gabrione both pick up assists on the play.
Dries made 18 saves in 47:11 of action, while senior goaltender Robert Kang (Glen Rock, N.J.) stopped all four shots he faced in 7:30. Holske racked up 54 stops. Saint Anselm outshot Southern New Hampshire, 55-26, including 18-6 in the final frame. The Hawks were just 1-for-10 with the man-advantage, while the Penmen were 2-for-4 with the extra skater.
This marks the final game for seniors Dries, Tebano, Merrill, Kang, Greg Crovo (Melrose, Mass.), Alex Pascal (Blue Bell, Pa.), Eric Czapka (Holland, Pa.) and Kevin Vanous (Virginia Beach, Va).
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