MANCHESTER, N.H. – Tyler Piacentini had a goal and an assist for visiting Norwich as the Cadets blanked the Saint Anselm College men's hockey team 2-0 despite a career-high 44 saves from Shane Joyce on Friday evening at Sullivan Arena.
Box Score
Joyce's 44 saves for Saint Anselm (1-3-0, 0-3-0 NEHC) helped keep the Cadets at bay for nearly two periods before Piacentini scored unassisted late in the second period. Piacentini then set up Alec Brandrup's power-play goal midway the third for Norwich (3-0-1, 3-0-0 NEHC), which was ranked No. 14 in this week's USCHO.com rankings.
After over 36 minutes of scoreless hockey, Piacentini found the back of the net with a wrist shot from just inside the blue line for Norwich at 16:18 of the second period with the eventual game-winning goal. The goal came after Joyce made two point-blank saves to deny the Cadets the opening goal earlier in the period.
The score remained 1-0 until 8:33 of the third period when Brandrup scored 35 seconds into a power-play opportunity. Brandrup collected the puck near the left circle, toe-dragged past a defender and sent a wrister over Joyce's glove. Kevin Salvucci and Piacentini earned assists on Brandrup's goal.
Ty Reichenbach made 11 saves for Norwich to record the shutout and earn his second win of the season. The Cadets outshot the Hawks 46-11 on the night.
Norwich was 1-for-3 on the power play and held Saint Anselm off the board on three chances with the extra skater.
Saint Anselm hosts Saint Michael's in an NEHC and NE-10 matchup to cap a doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Sullivan Arena on Smith Family Weekend. The Hawks and Purple Knights will start at 4 p.m. following the women's game against Sacred Heart 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, Instagram and Snapchat @STAHawks.
