MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman
Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.) lifted the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team to a shootout win over Southern New Hampshire on Friday night with the decisive goal. Both teams earned a tie on their records after finishing regulation and overtime with the score tied at 3-3.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hosts Southern New Hampshire again on Saturday, January 11th at 4:00 p.m. from the Sullivan Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 3, Southern New Hampshire 3 (Saint Anselm wins shootout, 2-1)
Records: Saint Anselm (6-6-2, 5-3-1 NE10); Southern New Hampshire (6-7-1, 5-3-1 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Thomas F. Sullivan Arena)
Date: Friday, January 10th, 2025
Attendance: 97
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm controlled the tempo early on and outshot Southern New Hampshire, 5-0, in the opening three minutes of play. Penmen goaltender Collin Burke made saves on all five shots to keep the game scoreless.
- Despite the early onslaught, the Penmen got on the board on just their first shot of the game. Ryan Clear and Brendan Lynch set up Anthony Marchant to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage 3:10 into the game.
- A few minutes later, the Hawks tied the score at 1-1. Senior Will van der Veen (Duxbury, Mass.) fired a puck on frame that fell to senior Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.), who finished on the doorstep to even things up.
- Saint Anselm continued their offensive assault with five more shots on goal over the next five minutes while holding their opposition shotless.
- The constant attacking pressure led to the Hawks finding the go-ahead goal at the 12:35 mark of the first period. Van der Veen launched a pass up ice that found junior Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.), who collected and made a centering pass that was finished off by freshman Brendan Manning (Chandler, Ariz.) to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
- Southern New Hampshire started to shift the momentum late in the opening period. The Penmen were given two power play opportunities in the final four minutes of the period, but sophomore goaltender Cam Carroll (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) helped keep Saint Anselm in front with five key saves during that span.
- Despite killing two straight penalties, the Hawks were again sent to the box early in the second following a cross-checking call. After several saves made by Carroll, the Penmen finally broke through to tie the score at 2-2 with Coleman Nee lighting the lamp off feeds from Marchant and Derek Flynn.
- After over a dozen minutes ticked off the clock without any scoring, Saint Anselm took the lead back courtesy of the sixth goal of the season by junior Luke Linart (Holland, Mich.), which made it 3-2 with 3:20 remaining in the second period.
- The Hawks continued to fire pucks on net with three shots in the final minute of the second, but Berke made some timely stops to keep the Penmen down by just a goal heading into the third.
- An interference penalty called just over a minute into the third period gave Saint Anselm their first and only power play chance of the night. The Penmen did enough to stymie the Hawks' man advantage, selling out for two blocked shots to kill off the penalty and stay within striking distance.
- The two sides traded a number of scoring chances midway through the final frame, but both goaltenders were up to the task. Carroll made four saves, while Berke made three to keep it a one-goal game.
- With a little over eight minutes left, Southern New Hampshire was given another power play following a holding penalty called on Saint Anselm. The Penmen made the most of the man advantage with Kurt Watson beating Carroll just inside the post to level the score at 3-3.
- At the 17:21 mark of the third, the Hawks were given a five-minute major penalty for spearing. Carroll stepped up in a big way for Saint Anselm by making three crucial stops in the final 10 seconds to send the game to overtime.
- The Penmen carried the man advantage into the extra period, where they skated 4-on-3 for the first couple of minutes. The Hawks were able to kill off the penalty after four more pucks on net were turned aside by Carroll.
- Saint Anselm was unable to generate a quality scoring look once play returned to 3-on-3 for the final few moments of overtime and the game headed to a shootout. The game officially ended in a 3-3 tie and both teams picked up a point for their efforts.
- In the shootout, Linart and Kelly both scored to send the Hawks home with a 2-1 shootout win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Southern New Hampshire held a slight edge over Saint Anselm in shots on goal, 37-35. The Hawks, who totaled 19 shots in the opening period, were outshot in overtime, 7-0.
- Saint Anselm scored twice in the first and once in the second, while Southern New Hampshire scored once in each period.
- The Hawks controlled the faceoff dot with 45 wins out of 75 attempts (60.0 percent). The Penmen won the remaining 30 out of 75 draws (40.0 percent).
- Reynolds had a strong night in the faceoff circle for Saint Anselm with 15 wins out of 21 attempts (71.4 percent). Sophomore Steve Armstrong (Victor, N.Y.) also excelled on faceoffs for the Hawks, winning nine out of 10 (90.0 percent). Brendan Lynch led the Penmen with 11 faceoff wins out of 23 attempts (47.8 percent).
- On the defensive side, Southern New Hampshire blocked 14 shots in the game while Saint Anselm blocked 10 shots. Linart logged a team-high three blocked shots for the Hawks. Flynn registered three blocks on the other side of the ice for the Penmen.
- The Penmen went 2-6 on the power play and registered 16 shots on goal on the man advantage. The Hawks were held scoreless on just one power play opportunity.
- Linart, Manning, and Reynolds each scored once for Saint Anselm.
- Van der Veen recorded two assists and is now tied for second on the team with seven helpers this season. Linart picked up an assist for his second straight multi-point game and is now tied for second on the squad in goals (six), assists (seven), and points (13).
- Marchant, Nee, and Watson each scored once for Southern New Hampshire. Six different Penmen skaters were credited with one assist.
- Carroll made 34 saves in goal for the Hawks, while Berke made 32 stops in goal for the Penmen.
- This marked the 59th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Southern New Hampshire. Saint Anselm is now 43-13-3 against Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College in the series that began in 1981.
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