HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College men's ice hockey team picked up their second straight Little East Conference (LEC) win on Saturday, defeating the Keene State Owls 5-3.
The teams tested the defense in the opening period as freshman Serafin Hoerl (Innsbruck, Austria) and sophomore Bryce Sturm (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) fired shots that were stopped by Owl's goaltender Ben Skelton. Keene State responded with a series of shots that were saved by sophomore goaltender Anthony Beaulieu (Lawrence, Mass.). The Owls broke through in the 18th minute to take the 1-0 lead as the first period came to a close with the Owls leading.
The teams continued to battle in the second period as senior Graham Hassan (Pinckney, Mich.) and sophomore Egor Osipik (Minsk, Belarus) fired shots that were blocked by Skelton. The Owls responded with a series of shots that were turned away by Beaulieu. The 'Grims continued to test the Keene State defense and in the 10th minute, freshman Casey Sturm (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) netted his first collegiate goal, tying the score at 1-1 with the assists from Hassan and junior Dylan Duckson (Mahtomedi, Minn.). Thirty seconds later, Duckson netted the Pilgrims second goal of the game to take the 2-1 lead with Hassan and senior Graham Padgitt (St. Charles, Ill.) credited with the assists. The Owls continued to pressure the NEC defense, but their attempts were turned away. In the 17th minute, Hassan extended the 'Grims lead to 3-1, with freshmen Wyatt Gibson (Pelham, Ont.) and Tiago Vinterberg (Herlev, Denmark) picking up the assists.
Keene State continued to test the NEC defense firing several more shots on goal that were saved by Beaulieu. Thor Hansen broke through late in the third period for the Owls, trimming the 'Grims lead to 3-2. Osipik responded a minute later extending NEC's lead to 4-2 with assists from junior Jack Herron (Lake in the Hills, Ill.) and freshman Matteo Viglino (Davos, Switzerland). Keene State pulled their goalie in the final minutes of action, looking to trim the lead, but the defense held firm. The 'Grims took advantage of the empty net with Viglino finding Herron who netted the fifth goal of the game extending NEC's lead to 5-2. The Owls netted their third goal in the final minute of action, but the 'Grims secured the 5-3 victory.
Five different Pilgrims scored on Saturday afternoon, while Hassan led the team with two assists. Junior Christophe Petit (Chelsea, Quebec) and Bryce Sturm each added four blocks and Beaulieu recorded 32 saves in net.
The Pilgrims will take the week off and return to action on Friday December 5th in a non-conference matchup with Trinity College (Conn.) at 7:00 PM.
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