MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore defenseman
Alex Hoitt (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored his first career goal to lead the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team to a 4-1 Northeast-10 Conference victory over Franklin Pierce University on Friday night.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm concludes the regular season at home on Saturday, February 17th against Franklin Pierce at 6:00 p.m. for Senior Day.
Score: Saint Anselm 4, Franklin Pierce 1
Records: Saint Anselm 9-16-2 (7-10-2 NE10), Franklin Pierce 12-14-0 (9-10-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Sullivan Arena)
Date: Friday, February 16, 2024
Attendance: 213
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm controlled the first period from start to finish and doubled Franklin Pierce in shots on goal. The Hawks fired 17 pucks on frame in the opening 20 minutes, including the first six shots on goal of the game, while the Ravens had just eight shots on target.
- Franklin Pierce stole some of the momentum five minutes in thanks to a power play after a Saint Anselm tripping penalty. The Ravens ripped four of the next five shots on goal, but freshman goaltender Cam Carroll (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) stood his ground for the Hawks to keep the game scoreless.
- Both teams earned a power play apiece in the second portion of the first period, but neither would find the back of the net and the game entered the second with the score at 0-0.
- To start the second, Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce each generated early scoring chances, but neither goaltender budged until the 8:18 mark. Hoitt received a beautiful cross-crease feed from classmate Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.) and slotted it home for his first career goal.
- Just over three minutes later, junior Hunter Brackett (Harwick Port, Mass.) lit the lamp for his team-leading 14th goal of the season, assisted by Hoitt and junior Richie Colarusso (Tewksbury, Mass.), to put Saint Anselm in front, 2-0. The junior forward collected the puck in the corner behind the Franklin Pierce goal and fired from an unlikely scoring angle. The puck bounced off the back of Ravens goaltender Maxymilian Banoun and into the net.
- Franklin Pierce got on the man-advantage once more and put Carroll right back to work. The freshman was forced to make eight saves during the penalty kill to preserve the shutout through 40 minutes of play.
- It was more of the same to begin the third period, with the Hawks firing five more shots on goal, but they were sent to the penalty box for the fifth time of the night shortly after. However, the Ravens could not get anything by Carroll and the Saint Anselm defense once again.
- Saint Anselm was given a power play of their own 8:05 into the final frame, but Banoun was able to deny four more shots during that two-minute span to keep his team within striking distance with 10 minutes to go.
- With five minutes remaining, Franklin Pierce finally broke through on the man-advantage. Trevor Lawler received a pass from behind the cage and one-timed it past Carroll to cut the deficit in half.
- 35 seconds later, Saint Anselm responded with their third goal of the game courtesy of junior Luke Mix (Winchester, Mass.). Mix received a centering pass across the face of goal from sophomore Luke Linart (Holland, Mich.) and deflected it into the net to make it 3-1.
- The Ravens pulled their goalie for the extra skater with under two minutes left. From deep in the defensive zone, junior Mark Blaney (Braintree, Mass.) collected the puck and chipped it up off the glass to clear it away, but the puck sailed past everyone and slid into the empty net to seal the 4-1 win for the Hawks.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a huge advantage in both shots on goal, 55-31, and total shot attempts, 92-57.
- The Hawks controlled the faceoff dot by winning 41 of 68 draws. The Ravens led the game in blocked shots, 18-14.
- Franklin Pierce struggled on the power play, going 1-7, while Saint Anselm went 0-3.
- Hoitt registered his first career goal and first career multi-point night. Brackett added his team-leading 14th goal, while Mix scored his fourth and Blaney potted his third of the season.
- Carroll made 30 saves and allowed just one goal, good for a .968 save percentage. Banoun stopped 52 shots and allowed three goals.
- This marked the 36th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm is now 30-5-1 overall against Franklin Pierce.
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