MANCHESTER, N.H. – Junior
Garrett Alberti (Wilmington, Mass.) scored for the eighth time in the last five games and freshman
Hunter Hoffman (Stevensville, Md.) added the first goal of his collegiate career as the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team defeated Post in Northeast-10 Conference action on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 3-1. The Hawks, who are unbeaten in their last nine conference games, remain in first place in the NE10 after improving to 12-3-1 in league play.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hosts Saint Michael's in NE10 action on Friday, February 7th at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 8th at 4:00 p.m. in the Sullivan Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 3, Post 1
Records: Saint Anselm (13-9-2, 12-3-1 NE10); Post (9-13-0, 7-9-0)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Thomas F. Sullivan Arena)
Date: Saturday, February 1st, 2025
Attendance: 425
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Post had the upper hand early in the game and outshot Saint Anselm over the first 10 minutes, 7-4. Hawks sophomore goaltender Cam Carroll (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) was forced into action and made saves on all seven shots he faced during that span to keep it scoreless.
- With 2:30 left in the opening period, the Hawks struck first with Alberti scoring for the fifth straight game to make it 1-0. Senior Mark Blaney (Braintree, Mass.) let off a slapshot from the blue line and Alberti tipped it past Eagles goaltender Benjamin Cunneen to give his team the lead.
- The visitors continued to generate scoring opportunities to start the second period. Post fired five shots on goal during the opening five minutes of the second, but failed to get one past Carroll, who denied each chance.
- Midway through the period, the Eagles went on their first power play of the afternoon, but the Hawks killed it off after allowing only one shot on goal.
- With under six minutes left in the second, Cunneen went to the bench for the extra attacker as the Hawks were called for a delayed penalty. The Eagles capitalized on the 6-on-5 advantage as Eoin Reager sniped the top left corner with a wrist shot through traffic to tie the score at 1-1.
- Post continued to put pucks on net with four more shots on goal and another power play chance late in the second, but the score remained tied heading into the second intermission.
- The two sides traded scoring chances to begin the third, but both goalies stood tall, combining for 11 saves to keep it deadlocked.
- With a little over 11 minutes remaining, Saint Anselm went on the power play after a Post skater was sent to the penalty box for slashing. With time winding down on the man advantage, senior Luke Mix (Winchester, Mass.) sent a wrist shot towards goal. The puck deflected off of sophomore Patrick DeMarinis (Manasquan, N.J.) and made its way into the back of the net to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead.
- Carroll then stepped up at the other end and turned aside three consecutive shots on goal by the Eagles to keep his team in front. That allowed the Hawks to pull ahead by two goals a few minutes later.
- After a failed clearance by Post, Hoffman collected the puck at the top of the left wing circle for Saint Anselm. He fired a wrist shot past Cuneen and into the top right corner of the net, making it a 3-1 lead for the home team with 5:45 to play.
- The Eagles started to increase their offensive pressure in the final few minutes of the game. They outshot the Hawks, 7-0, in the final three and a half minutes, but Carroll shut them down with some clutch saves to help his team hold on for the 3-1 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Post maintained a 39-28 advantage in shots on goal in the game over Saint Anselm. The Eagles outshot the Hawks in every period, including 17-13 in the third.
- Senior Hunter Brackett (Fort Laderdale, Fla.) led the Hawks with seven shots on goal, while Reager led the Eagles with six shots on goal.
- Saint Anselm scored once in the first period and twice in the third. Post scored their lone goal of the contest in the second period.
- The Hawks held a slight edge at the faceoff dot, winning 35 draws out of 66 attempts (53.0 percent). The Eagles won the remaining 31 out of 66 (47.0 percent) in the faceoff circle.
- Senior Chase Reynolds (Middletown, Conn.) led the Hawks by winning 13 of his 24 faceoff attempts (54.2 percent). Joe Santoro led the Eagles by winning 14 draws out of 23 attempts (60.9 percent).
- On the defensive side, both teams blocked 10 shots in the contest. Three different skaters finished with two blocks apiece in the game for Saint Anselm, including Hoffman, Mix, and freshman Justin Tremblay (Becancour, Quebec, Canada). Ryan O'Connell posted a game-high three blocked shots for Post.
- Saint Anselm scored on their only power play opportunity of the game and registered three shots on goal. Post was held scoreless on three power play chances despite four shots on goal during the man advantage.
- On the weekend, the Hawks scored on three of their six power plays and held the Eagles without a goal on nine power play opportunities.
- Alberti, DeMarinis, and Hoffman each scored a goal for Saint Anselm. For Hoffman, it was the first goal of his collegiate career. Blaney, Brackett, Mix, and junior Luke Linart (Holland, Mich.) all picked up an assist in the contest.
- Alberti has now scored in five consecutive games and has eight goals over that span. He has 12 goals this season, which is second-most on the team and is tied for second-most in the NE10. His 18 points also cracks the top 10 in the conference. DeMarinis scored his 10th goal of the year and is third on the squad in scoring.
- Reager scored the lone goal of the afternoon for Post, while Aidan Canady and Scotty Swain each registered an assist.
- Carroll made 38 saves in goal for the Hawks in the win. Cunneen made 25 stops in goal for the Eagles in the loss.
- This marked the 22nd all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Post. The Hawks improve to 18-3-1 against the Eagles in the series that began in 2017.
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