MANCHESTER, N.H. – In their first game of the new year, the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team fell to NCAA Division III opponent Colby on Friday evening in non-conference action by a final score of 5-2.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, January 4th when they take on NCAA Division I opponent Long Island (LIU) in non-conference play at 8:00 p.m. in East Meadow, N.Y.
Score: Saint Anselm 2, Colby 5
Records: Saint Anselm (5-5-1); Colby (7-2-1)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Sullivan Arena)
Date: Friday, January 3rd, 2025
Attendance: 248
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm opened the game on the front foot with the first three shots on goal, but Colby goaltender Edward Balioti kept the game scoreless with a number of saves.
- Midway through the opening period, the Mules opened the scoring courtesy of an even strength goal by Donovan O'Neil which made it 1-0.
- The visitors used that goal as momentum and outshot the Hawks, 12-3, over the final 11 minutes of the first. Saint Anselm junior goaltender Tucker Hanson (Boxford, Mass.) kept his team down by just a goal with a flurry of saves, but Colby finally broke through on the man advantage with 17 seconds to go in the period. Tyler Crist finished off a power play goal to make it a 2-0 game heading into intermission.
- The Mules began the second period on the power play after a five minute major penalty was assessed to the Hawks late in the first. Despite the man down scenario, it was Saint Anselm who scored the next goal to cut the deficit in half. Sophomore Chris Cordeiro (Barnstable, Mass.) stole the puck and raced to the other end, where he beat the goaltender five-hole to make it a 2-1 game.
- Hanson made three more saves after that for Saint Anselm to help the Hawks successfully kill off the rest of the five-minute penalty.
- The Hawks started to sway the momentum back to their side, resulting in two power play opportunities of their own. Balioti helped the Mules kill off the first penalty with three saves, but the Hawks took advantage on the second man-up chance with junior Luke Linart (Holland, Mich.) lighting the lamp late in the second period to tie the score at 2-2.
- Saint Anselm put five more pucks on frame in the final four minutes of the second, but the game remained tied heading into the final period.
- Less than a minute into the third, the Hawks were given another power play chance after a Mule was sent to the penalty box for hooking. However, Colby took a 3-2 lead with Crist scoring a short-handed goal for his second tally of the game.
- The Mules then killed off the remainder of the penalty and scored an insurance goal a few minutes later. Alex Keskintepe helped the visitors make it a 4-2 game exactly 4:30 into the third.
- Colby continued to pump shots on target. Hanson did all he could with seven more saves, but the Mules broke the game open with their third goal of the period scored by Will Molson which made it 5-2.
- The Mules outshot the Hawks, 14-3, over the final 11 minutes of the game, but no more goals were scored as Colby secured the 5-2 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Colby held a sizeable 49-35 advantage in shots on goal during the game. The Mules recorded a whopping 27 shots on target in the third period. Saint Anselm posted 20 shots on goal in the second frame.
- The Hawks scored twice in the second period, while the Mules scored twice in the first and three times in the third.
- The battle at the faceoff dot was extremely even. Colby held a slight edge by winning 37 out of 70 draws (52.9 percent), while Saint Anselm won 33 out of 70 attempts (47.1 percent).
- Senior Max Burum (Marshfield, Mass.) led the Hawks with 11 faceoff wins out of 20 attempts (55.0 percent). Freshman Brendan Manning (Chandler, Ariz.) also had a solid night at the dot for the home team with nine faceoff wins out of 17 draws (52.9 percent). Nick Stapleton went 13 of 18 (72.2 percent) in the circle to lead the Mules.
- On the defensive side, Colby blocked 15 shots in the game, while Saint Anselm blocked nine shots. Max O'Brien led the Mules with a game-high four blocks.
- Both teams went 1-3 on the power play. The Mules totaled 11 shots on goal while the Hawks posted nine shots on goal during the man advantage. Each team also scored a shorthanded goal in the game.
- Cordeiro and Linart each scored for Saint Anselm. Linart, who scored on the power play, is now tied for the team lead with five goals this season. He is currently second on the squad with nine points. Cordeiro picked up his second goal of the season, which came shorthanded.
- Senior Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and junior John Myers (White Plains, N.Y.) each tallied an assist for the Hawks.
- Four different players scored goals for Colby. Crist led the Mules with two goals, one on the power play and one shorthanded. Connor Gallagher finished with three assists for the Mules as well.
- Hanson made 44 saves between the pipes for the Hawks in just his second start of the year. Balioti made 33 saves in goal for the Mules in the win.
- This marked the 54th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Colby. The Hawks fall to 18-35-1 against the Mules in the series that began in 1975.
- Saint Anselm has not beaten Colby since the 2004-05 campaign. The Mules have now won 11 straight games against the Hawks.
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