MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman
Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.) scored two goals, his first collegiate multi-goal game, and the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team picked up a 4-2 win over Post in Northeast-10 Conference action on Friday night. The Hawks, who are unbeaten in their last eight conference games, improve to 11-3-1 in league play and remain in first place in the NE10 standings.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm faces Post in NE10 play on Saturday, February 1st at 3:00 p.m. in the Sullivan Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 4, Post 2
Records: Saint Anselm (12-9-2, 11-3-1 NE10); Post (9-12-0, 7-8-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Thomas F. Sullivan Arena)
Date: Friday, January 31st, 2025
Attendance: 274
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Post started the game on the power play after Saint Anselm had a player sent off for interference just 22 seconds in. However, the penalty killing unit for the Hawks went to work and successfully killed off the infraction without surrendering a shot.
- The Eagles got their offense clicking shortly after with several shots on goal over the next couple of minutes. Hawks sophomore goaltender Cam Carroll (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) responded with a few saves to keep it scoreless early on.
- A little over eight minutes into the first period, Post got on the board to take a 1-0 lead. The Eagles kept the puck in the offensive zone after a failed clearance by the Hawks. Hugh McGuigan sent a shot on goal that was stopped by Carroll, but Jonathan Meijer was their to tap in the finish on the rebound.
- Saint Anselm answered right back and made it a 1-1 game just 22 seconds later. Freshman Hunter Hoffman (Stevensville, Md.) collected the puck at the blue line and fired a wrist shot through traffic. Kelly managed to deflect it by Post goaltender Drew Blodgett and into the back of the net to even the score.
- A few minutes later, the Eagles found the back of the net to regain the lead. Bradley McMains stole the puck at center ice and raced in on goal. His backhand effort was denied by Carroll, but he managed to swat the rebound out of mid-air and got just enough on it to squeeze it past the Hawks' netminder for the go-ahead goal.
- With under five minutes remaining in the first period, Saint Anselm got their first power play opportunity of the evening after Post was called for a hooking penalty. The Hawks made quick work during the man advantage with Kelly scoring just 40 seconds in to tie the score at 2-2. Senior Max Burum (Marshfield, Mass.) got the puck in the corner and sent a pass through the crease to Kelly, who finished at the back post for his second goal of the game.
- The Eagles were given another power play opportunity late in the first period after the Hawks were called for a slashing penalty. The penalty killing unit for Saint Anselm once again held Post without a shot during the two-minute man advantage to keep it tied.
- Saint Anselm was able to score with just four seconds remaining in the first period to take a 3-2 lead heading into the intermission. The Hawks were able to clear the zone and caught the Eagles out of position, which created a 2-on-1 the other way. Senior Hunter Brackett (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) drew the defender and slid a pass across to a wide open junior Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.), who blasted a one-timer past Blodgett to give his team the lead.
- The second period was a stalemate as neither side scored despite 10 shots on goal apiece and three power plays between them. The Hawks started the second period with the momentum and outshot their opponents, 5-1, in the first three minutes, but the Eagles countered with eight of the next nine shots on goal. Both goaltenders made 10 stops in the period as the game remained 3-2 heading into the third.
- Post began the final period on the power play after a boarding penalty was called on Saint Anselm at the end of the second. The Eagles then made it a 5-on-3 advantage after a tripping penalty on the Hawks, but the visitors squandered their chance to tie the score and only generated one shot on goal, which was saved by Carroll.
- The Hawks then went on a power play of their own after the Eagles had a skater sent to the box for tripping. A little over a minute into the man advantage, senior Luke Mix (Winchester, Mass.) sent a shot towards goal that was saved by Blodgett, but a scramble ensued just outside the crease. The puck made its way to senior Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.), who forced it across the goal line to give his team a 4-2 edge with 11:35 remaining.
- Post tried to come up with an answer after conceding and were awarded another power play chance. This time, the Eagles pumped five shots on goal during the man advantage, but Carroll came up with some clutch stops to keep the Hawks in front by two goals.
- The visitors were not able to come up with anything threatening offensively over the final six minutes as Saint Anselm skated to the 4-2 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Shots on goal were even with Saint Anselm maintaining a slight 30-29 edge over Post. The Hawks recorded 13 shots on goal in the first period, while the Eagles totaled 10 shots on goal in each of the final two frames.
- Kelly and freshman Brendan Manning (Chandler, Ariz.) led the Hawks with four shots on goal apiece.
- Five out of the game's six goals were scored in the first period. Saint Anselm scored three times and Post scored twice during the opening segment. The Hawks added the final goal of the contest in the third period after a scoreless second, helping them end the game with three unanswered goals.
- Saint Anselm dominated on faceoffs and won 43 out of 72 attempts in the circle (59.7 percent). Post won the remaining 29 out of 72 at the faceoff dot (40.3 percent).
- Burum led the Hawks by winning 14 of his 22 faceoff attempts (63.6 percent). Manning and Reynolds also had solid nights in the faceoff circle for Saint Anselm and went 12 for 15 (80.0 percent) and 12 for 20 (60.0 percent), respectively. Joe Santoro led the Eagles by winning 10 draws out of 21 attempts (47.6 percent).
- On the defensive side, Post blocked 13 shots in the contest, while Saint Anselm blocked eight shots. Four players blocked two shots apiece for the Eagles, while two players finished with a pair of blocks for the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm had an efficient night on the power play, scoring twice out of five opportunities with seven shots on goal. Post was unsuccessful on the man advantage and went scoreless despite six power play chances and eight shots on goal.
- Kelly scored twice, while Alberti and Reynolds each scored once for Saint Anselm. It was the first career multi-goal game for Kelly. Alberti has now scored eight goals in his last six games and increased his total to 11 for the season, the second-most on the team.
- Seven different skaters recorded assists for the Hawks, including Brackett who recorded two helpers. Brackett continues to lead both the team and the conference with 17 goals and 33 points this season. His 16 assists are the most on the squad and are tied for second in the NE10. Brackett, who has recorded four consecutive multi-point games, has 16 points in his last seven games.
- McMains and Meijer each scored for Post, while McGuigan and Tommy Buis each tallied an assist.
- Carroll made 27 saves in goal for the Hawks in the win. Blodgett made 26 stops in goal for the Eagles in the loss.
- This marked the 21st all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Post. The Hawks improve to 17-3-1 against the Eagles in the series that began in 2017.
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