HENNIKER, N.H. – Playing in their first game since December 10th, the New England College men's ice hockey team won 5-1 over visiting Rivier University on Saturday at Lee Clement Arena in Henniker, New Hampshire in non-conference action. It was the first ever meeting in men's ice hockey between the Granite State rivals.
THE BASICS
Score: Rivier 1, New England College 5
Records: Pilgrims 2-8-1 | Raiders 4-6-1
HOW IT HAPPENED
- NEC sophomore center Paul Waldhauser (Klagenfurt, Austria) got the party started in the first period, scoring his third goal of the season on a power play with 9:04 on the clock with assists to senior forward Jesper Tarkiainen (Naperville, Ill.) and sophomore forward Gunnar Sibley (Monticello, Minn.) as the teams went into the first intermission with the 'Grims leading 1-0.
- The second period saw a plethora of penalties and scoring, with the Pilgrims getting the better of it. Just 1:15 in, NEC senior forward Ike Taraszewski (Wayzata, Minn.) scored his first goal of the season with an assist to senior forward David Novotny (Boca Raton, Fla.) to increase the lead to two. Then just three minutes later, NEC freshman defenseman Andrew Ralston (San Jose, Calif.) scored his first career goal to make it 3-0, assisted by Taraszewski and graduate defenseman Zach Nelson (Hudson, Mass.). The Raiders got on the board with 14:33 to go in the period when Rivier senior forward Nicolas Paolucci (Toronto, Ont.) scored to make it 3-1, assisted by junior forward Matt Horan (Methuen, Mass.). But the 'Grims got the goal back as Waldhauser scored his second PPG of the evening with 12:11 to go, assisted by Tarkiainen and Ralston. The teams went into the final period with NEC leading 4-1.
- The 'Grims held fast in the third, and when the Raiders were forced to pull their goalie, Tarkiainen took advantage with his first goal of the season on an empty netter with 2:09 to go, assisted by Waldhauser and freshman forward Egor Osipik (Minsk, Belarus). That would be more than enough to secure the win for NEC.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- NEC freshman goaltender Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.) tallied 17 saves on the evening for the Pilgrims. At press time, the rookie ranked in the top five in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) statistics in save percentage.
- Rivier first-year goaltender Mason Meyer (Lakeville, Minn.) finished with 36 stops on the night.
- In addition to his two goals and an assist, Waldhauser went 15-and-8 on faceoffs.
- Shots on goal were 41-18 in favor of the 'Grims.
- It was NEC's highest goal total since January 27th, 2024, a 5-2 home win over Vermont State University Castleton.
UP NEXT
- NEC is back on the ice on Friday when they travel to Salve Regina University for a 7:00 p.m. game in a NEHC matchup.
- Rivier plays their next game at home on Thursday, a 7:30 p.m. contest against Plymouth State University.
