SHELTON, Conn. –  It was one of those grit and grind-them-out games that last season, Post University Men's Ice Hockey may have ended up on the opposite side of, but this year's team showed they were different at home against Saint Anselm College on Friday afternoon. Three first-period goals, including two within a minute of each other as the frame wore down, would help the Eagles hold off a late rally by the Hawks to earn their first conference win of the season, 4-3, at the Sports Center of Connecticut. 

THE BASICS

Post University 4, Saint Anselm College 3 

Post University (2-3-0, 1-2-0 NE10)

Saint Anselm College (3-2-1, 2-1-0 NE10) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior forward Hunter Brackett got the first of what would be four first-period goals between the two teams with the help of freshman defenseman Hunter Hoffman to give the Hawks their only lead of the game. Crashing the net just under four minutes later to net the equalizer would be junior forward Hugh McGuigan with the aid of junior defenseman Ryan O'Connell and junior forward Jacob Howell with still 11 1/2 minutes to play in the period. 

Despite the Hawks holding a large 17-7 margin in shots on goal, the final two minutes flipped the game on its head in favor of Post with two goals starting with Howell with only 1:18 remaining. Freshman defenseman Aidan Canady and junior forward Matteo Peca helped locate a streaking Howell down the right side of the ice who beat junior goalie Tucker Hanson in a one-on-one situation to give the Eagles a 2-1 edge. Not long after that on another odd-man rush, it was junior forward Baxter Kimball's turn to feed sophomore forward Parker Norling in front of Hanson for the score to help Post take a two-goal lead, 3-1, into the locker room.

A more evenly-matched second period saw junior goalie Benjamin Cunneen make 17 more saves compared to 11 for Hanson, which was the most for him in a single period for the game, but the Hawks would get one back off the stick of sophomore forward Patrick DeMarinis in between the circles to make it a one-goal game on the power-play opportunity. With the second winding down and the Eagles on a power play, Kimball would have a backhanded chance with four seconds to go against Hanson that was turned away to send Post into the final period ahead 3-2.

Redeeming himself in the third still on the same power-play chance was Kimball as he gave the Eagles some breathing room with a two-goal lead just 36 seconds into the frame. But that cushion would be short-lived as senior forward Max Burum got between the circles himself for the score from DeMarinis and senior defenseman Will van der Veen to cut it back to a one-score game where it would remain the rest of the way. Coming up with 12 saves in the third, Cunneen held the Hawks off the scoreboard despite a 6-on-5 advantage at the end to finish with 45 saves and his second straight win as the Eagles notched their first conference win of the season, 4-3, over the Hawks. 

BY THE NUMBERS   

• Benjamin Cunneen made 45 more saves to bring his week total up to 78 for the week while going 2-0-0 which marks the first time in his career he has won back-to-back starts in goal
• Post University snapped an 0-for-14 start to the season on the power-play with Baxter Kimball's power-play goal in the third period
• When scoring four goals against Saint Anselm, Post University is now 3-0-0 all-time against the Hawks 
• Post University has their first two-game winning streak since February 26th and March 1st, 2022 when they beat Saint Michael's College and Southern New Hampshire University -- It is the first time since February 11th and 12th of that season when they beat Stonehill College in back-to-back games in which they have won two straight at home 

WHO'S NEXT 
Post University faces off against Saint Anselm College again tomorrow from the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton, Connecticut at 2:30 PM to close out their weekend.