SHELTON, Conn. – As the regular season begins to wind down for Post University Men's Ice Hockey, the Eagles looked to snap their six-game losing streak and gain some momentum with the Northeast-10 Tournament just around the corner in their home weekend series against Saint Anselm College.
After overcoming a 2-1 deficit in the third, graduate forward Jack Engdahl would net the game-winning goal for Post with 4.9 seconds left to snap their six-game losing streak, get the Eagles their first overtime win of the season, 3-2, and first win over the Hawks since January 27th, 2023.
THE BASICS
Post University 3, Saint Anselm College 2 (OT)
Post University (3-16-1, 2-12-1 NE10)
Saint Anselm College (6-13-2, 4-7-2 NE10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
For the second straight game, Post would score shorthanded when another puck dumped deep into the Saint Anselm zone by graduate forward Jack Engdahl was chased down by sophomore forward Hugh McGuigan. McGuigan would continue racing forward and fire it by freshman goalie Cam Carroll less than four minutes into the first to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. But the Hawks would quickly respond as just 1:01 later, a puck that was shot by junior defenseman Mark Blaney bounced off junior goalie Drew Blodgett's pad and found the stick of sophomore forward Garrett Alberti for the equalizer.
In all, the Hawks held a strong 23-6 shots on goal advantage over the Eagles, but Blodgett was up to the challenge as he stopped 22 shots and helped kill off two power-play chances for Saint Anselm to keep the game knotted up at one heading into the second.
A mostly mundane middle period would see Post control the pace of play as they held a 25-17 edge in total shots and 16-12 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams would have a pair of power-plays each but were unable to capitalize on their chances as Blodgett and Carroll stood tall in net for their respective squads. However, it would be the Hawks who regained control of the affair with just under 3:30 remaining when a loose puck in front was pushed out by freshman forward Chris Cordeiro back to junior defenseman Luke Mix. Mix would quickly fire a pass over to sophomore forward Luke Linart on the left side of Blodgett and freeze the junior in net as the Hawks reclaimed the lead, 2-1, with one period left to play.
Injecting themselves with some momentum early on in the third, sophomore forward Nathan McDevitt would net his first collegiate goal only 1:29 into the frame when a cross-ice pass by McGuigan went to sophomore forward Matteo Peca to break the Eagles out of their own zone. McDevitt would take a one-timer from the left circle and bury the shot to tie things up at two all.
Only one penalty would be awarded in the period, putting Post on the man-up advantage which they would be unable to cash in on. For the second straight period, the Eagles held a lofty shots on goal advantage, 11-5, but neither side would get the go-ahead goal which led to five-minute sudden death overtime.
With time winding down in the overtime, sophomore defenseman Ryan Cardow would flick the puck to Engdahl up the left side of the ice and he would fire it over the top of Carroll's head for the game-winner on the Eagles' third shot of the extra period to give them the 3-2 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Finishing with a goal and an assist, Hugh McGuigan had the first two-point game of his career today
- Nathan McDevitt had his first collegiate goal in the third period in just his 16th career game played and first shot of the season – McDevitt appeared in 11 games last year while only tallying seven shots
- This is the first time since the 2016-17 season in which Post University has scored a shorthanded goal in back-to-back games, last doing so on November 5th and 11th, 2016 against Central Connecticut
- With four shorthanded goals this year now, Post University has set the single-season program record for most shorthanded goals in a season as they surpass the 2016-17 and 2018-19 teams who had three
WHO'S NEXT
Post University will hit the ice for their final regular season matchup against Saint Anselm College tomorrow afternoon at the Sports Center of Connecticut's Lower Rink in Shelton, Connecticut at 1:00 PM.
