WORCESTER, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team fell by a 2-1 score to Assumption University in Tuesday's Northeast-10 Conference contest.

Saint Anselm falls to 4-7-1 on the season with a 1-4-1 mark in NE10 play while Assumption improves to 7-7-1 overall and 4-3-0 in conference contests. The Hawks are back on action on Friday, Jan. 14 when the team plays its first contest of a weekend series with Post University. The opening puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Playing the entire contest shorthanded, the Hawks had a great scoring chance at 8:24 of the opening period as freshman Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) worked his way into the attacking end and sent a pass to the slot for classmate Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.). Reynolds fired a one-time shot on Greyhounds goaltender David Altman but the chance was turned aside.

Saint Anselm opened the scoring with just 1:39 left in the first frame as sophomore Will Christensen (Ridgefield, Conn.) fired a shot on Altman who made the initial save but Christensen cashed in on the rebound, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead on his third goal of the season. Junior alternate captain Andrew Andary (Macomb, Mich.) and sophomore Tommy Schwartz (Ridgefield, Conn.) were credited with assists on the tally. For Andary, he extends his point streak to four games, registering six helpers during that stretch.

Both goaltenders stood tall in the second period as junior netminder Nick Howard (Burlington, Mass.) stopped 11 Greyhounds shots on goal, helping the Hawks to kill off the lone penalty of the second stanza. Altman added eight saves in the period, bringing both save totals to 20 through 40 minutes of play.

Collin Montgomery found the equalizer at 4:42 of the third period as he collected a pass at the blue line and made a move around a defender. He skated to the slot and fired a wrister by Howard and into the left side of the goal.

The Greyhounds took their first lead of the contest just 28 seconds later as Christopher Stalmok found himself behind the Hawks defense after a long pass to blue line. Stalmok made a quick move to his left and managed to beat Howard to give the hosts a 2-1 edge.

Saint Anselm had a strong chance to knot the contest at two at 13:29 of the third period as Brackett attempted to make a move around the defender entering the attacking zone. He was bodied off the puck but Andary found the loose puck and snapped a shot on Altman who made the save with his glove.

With time winding down, the Hawks were forced to pull their goaltender in favor of an extra skater. Saint Anselm sent four shots toward the goal, with two of them forcing Altman to make a save but the Hawks could not find the equalizer.

Saint Anselm fired 29 shots on goal while Assumption sent 31 on frame. Neither squad converted on their power play opportunities as the Hawks were 0-for-3 while the Greyhounds went 0-for-2.

Howard faced 31 shots on goal, making 29 saves for the Hawks. Altman made 28 saves, grabbing the win for the Greyhounds.