SHELTON, Conn. – Looking to close out the 2023 side of their schedule on a high note, Post University Men's Ice Hockey finished up their weekend series against Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Center of Connecticut. Unable to overcome two early goals by the Penmen, the Eagles dropped their third straight game, 3-1, heading into the winter break with a 1-10-1 record and looking to right the ship when they return to action on January 3^rd, 2024 against King's College (Penn.) at home.
 
THE BASICS

Post University 1, Southern New Hampshire University 3

Post University (1-10-1, 1-7-1 NE10)

Southern New Hampshire University (5-5-1, 3-4-1 NE10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the third time in four games, the Eagles would be issued a game misconduct penalty for checking from behind, this time given to sophomore forward Nathan McDevitt. The infraction would prove costly for Post as the Penmen would go on the 5-on-4 advantage for a full five minutes. Moments later, senior center Ryan Mosher would get a two-minute roughing penalty which gave Southern New Hampshire a 5-on-3 power play.
 
They would quickly make the most of the two-man advantage with two goals in 19 seconds with the first coming from junior forward Jack Gray and then sophomore forward Kurt Watson. Freshman defenseman Bryan McLachlan and Watson would each get an assist on the first goal while sophomore forwards Brendan Lynch and Ryan Pomposelli helped on the second one to give the Penmen a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
 
A quick start to the second would see a couple of breakaway opportunities for the Eagles against freshman goalie Sean Guerin that would be turned away before the two sides settled in. However, penalties would end up defining things in this frame with a combined 29 penalty minutes being issued between both teams including another game misconduct, this time to sophomore defenseman Jim Minnig for contact to the head.
 
Post would eventually end up in a similar 5-on-3 situation with a chance to get themselves back into it, but Guerin would be up to the challenge in maintaining the shutout for the Penmen as the Eagles would go 0-for-3 in the period and head into the final 20 minutes still trailing by a pair of goals.
 
Unrelenting in their quest to get back into the game, Post would cut their deficit in half just under 2:30 into the third with a tip-in goal from sophomore forward Jake Aloi. After senior forward Connor Barter took the puck from behind the goal mouth, freshman defenseman Cameron Craig would fire from the right side and Aloi would deflect the puck passed Guerin to make it a one-score game.
 
Penalties would continue to muddy the two sides as a second game misconduct with senior defenseman Casey Sturgeon being assessed for a check from behind. That would eventually lead to another 5-on-3 power play for the Penmen which would be quelled by the Eagles this time around to keep it a 2-1 game as the game neared the closing minutes.
 
Following a boarding penalty issued to Lynch with 1:52 left in regulation, the Eagles would pull junior goalie Drew Blodgett from the net in hopes of getting the equalizer. However, a neutral zone turnover would seal the deal as junior defenseman Ethan Rodriguez fired from near center ice and hit the back of the net with 1:18 left in the third to give the Penmen a 3-1 lead and the weekend sweep of Post.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Going 0-for-8 on the power play, Post University is now 1-for-22 over the last four games on the man-up
• The Post penalty kill had a strong effort, going 8-for-10 despite allowing a power play goal for the sixth consecutive game
• After scoring two-plus goals in their first five games of the season, Post has been held to one goal or fewer in six of their last seven games, going 1-6-0 in that stretch
• After combining for 41 penalty minutes a day ago, the two teams combined for 75 penalty minutes on Saturday with Post having 44 total minutes to 31 minutes for Southern New Hampshire – The Eagles have now picked up at least one game misconduct in three of their last four games  

 
WHO'S NEXT
Post University returns to action in just under a month to finish out their last two games of the homestand starting on Wednesday, January 3^rd, 2024 against King's College (Penn.). Puck drop is scheduled for 1:00 PM inside the Sports Center of Connecticut on the Lower Rink. This will be the first matchup between the two teams in program history.