WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior
Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) scored twice to increase his conference-leading total to 16 goals on the season and the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team defeated Assumption by a final score of 4-0 on Saturday to complete the weekend sweep. Junior goaltender
Tucker Hanson (Boxford, Mass.) made 34 saves and earned his first career shutout in goal for the Hawks, who remain in first place in the Northeast-10 Conference standings with a 10-3-1 record in league play. It was the first shutout win of the season for Saint Anselm.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is on the road to face NCAA Division III opponent Keene State in non-conference action on Tuesday, January 28th in Keene, N.H. at 7:45 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 4, Assumption 0
Records: Saint Anselm (11-8-2, 10-3-1 NE10); Assumption (10-14-0, 7-7-0 NE10)
Location: Worcester, Mass. (Worcester Ice Center)
Date: Saturday, January 25th, 2025
Attendance: 120
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm was sent to the penalty box twice in six seconds early in the game, giving Assumption a lengthy 5-on-3 power play opportunity. Hanson came up big for the Hawks and turned aside seven shots by the Greyhounds to help kill off both penalties and keep the game scoreless.
- A few minutes later, Saint Anselm opened the scoring on the 15th goal of the season by Brackett to take a 1-0 lead. Brackett collected the puck at the top of the left wing circle and fired a shot through traffic that beat the goaltender low to put his team in front.
- The Hawks pinned the Greyhounds in deep and doubled their advantage just 1:07 later. After a failed clearance by Assumption, junior Tim Duffy (Sudbury, Mass.) got the puck at the blue line and sent a wrist shot towards goal. The puck deflected off the stick of freshman Brendan Manning (Chandler, Ariz.) and found the back of the net to make it a 2-0 game.
- Over the final dozen minutes of the opening period, Assumption outshot Saint Anselm, 10-6, but failed to find a goal as the score remained 2-0 heading into the first intermission.
- The Hawks increased their offensive pressure early in the second, firing five shots on goal in the first three minutes of action. Greyhounds goaltender Thomas McLarnon denied each of those attempts to help keep the deficit at two goals for the home team.
- The chances continued to come for Saint Anselm as the penalty box turned into a revolving door for Assumption, who was called for five penalties during the second period. The penalty killing unit stepped up in a big way for the Greyhounds as they were able to hold the Hawks without a goal during their power plays, including once during a 5-on-3 scenario.
- McLarnon was clutch for Assumption during the penalty kill. The netminder made nine saves during the five Saint Anselm power plays in what turned out to be a scoreless second period.
- The Greyhounds looked sharp offensively with a couple of shots on goal early in the third period, but Hanson parried them both away to keep the shutout intact.
- Five minutes into the third, the Hawks extended their lead on the second goal of the afternoon by Brackett. Senior Max Burum (Marshfield, Mass.) intercepted the puck in the offensive zone and found Brackett wide open in the slot. His one-timer found the top right corner and made it a 3-0 game.
- Saint Anselm continued to pump shots on net with six more over the next three minutes. McLarnon limited the damage with a few more saves for Assumption.
- With under eight minutes to play, the Hawks made it 4-0. Junior Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.) got on the scoresheet for the second straight game after slamming home a rebound that came off the pads of McLarnon.
- Saint Anselm held Assumption to just one shot on goal the rest of the way and secured the 4-0 victory, their first shutout win of the season.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a dominant 48-34 edge over Assumption in shots on goal. The Hawks recorded 10 or more shots on goal in every period, including 21 in the second and 17 in the third.
- The Greyhounds posted 20 shots on goal in the first period, but were held to just 14 shots on goal over the final two frames.
- Brackett led the Hawks with eight shots on goal. The Hawks scored twice in the first period and twice in the third.
- Saint Anselm controlled the faceoff dot and won 38 out of 68 in the circle (55.9 percent). Assumption won the remaining 30 out of 68 faceoffs (44.1 percent).
- Senior Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.) led the Hawks by winning 15 of his 23 faceoff attempts (65.2 percent). Ronny Paragallo led the Greyhounds by winning 13 of his 27 draws (48.1 percent).
- On the defensive side, both teams blocked five shots in the contest. Five skaters blocked one shot apiece for each team.
- The two sides combined to go 0 for 8 on the power play. The Hawks went 0 for 5 despite nine shots on goal during the man advantage, while the Greyhounds went 0 for 3 despite eight shots on goal during the man advantage.
- Alberti, Brackett, and Manning all scored for Saint Anselm. Brackett scored twice for his third multi-goal game of the season, while Alberti scored in the second consecutive game.
- Burum recorded a pair of assists in the game for the Hawks. Duffy, Manning, seniors Mark Blaney (Braintree, Mass.) and Luke Mix (Winchester, Mass.), and freshman Hunter Hoffman (Stevensville, Md.) each picked up an assist as well. It was the first point of the season for Duffy in just his second appearance.
- Brackett leads the team in goals and points and is second on the team in assists this season. His 16 goals leads the NE10, while his 28 points is tied for the conference lead. Blaney and Burum are now tied for the team lead with 13 assists each this winter, a figure that is tied for third-most in the NE10.
- Hanson made 34 saves in goal for the Hawks to earn the first shutout win of his collegiate career. Thomas McLarnon made 44 saves in goal for the Greyhounds in the loss.
- This marked the 58th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Assumption. The Hawks improve to 37-18-3 against the Greyhounds in the series that began in 1969.
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