SHELTON, Conn. –  Junior forward Matteo Peca scored two goals for Post University Men's Ice Hockey as the Eagles wasted no time getting back into the win column and evening up their conference record at 6-6-0 overall with a 3-1 win at home in the Sports Center of Connecticut on Tuesday afternoon against Franklin Pierce University. Post now heads into the weekend for two games against Southern New Hampshire University, who sits second in the conference at 21 points, giving the Eagles a chance to move up to as high as sole possession of second place after the weekend is over or tied for first depending on how the weekend results shake out. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Franklin Pierce University 1 

Post University (8-10-0, 6-6-0 NE10)

Franklin Pierce University (0-18-1, 0-12-0 NE10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Chances would come frequently for both sides in the first period as senior goalie Drew Blodgett and sophomore goalie Riley Mastowski dueled it out for the chance at getting their first win between the pipes this season. Blodgett would finish the first 20 minutes having made eight saves while Mastowski stopped 11 shots from the Eagles in a period that saw Post go up by one, following a goal from freshman forward Scotty Swain. 

Skating backward into his own zone, sophomore forward Parker Norling hit senior defenseman Trey Deloury in stride near the opposite blue line whose touch pass to Swain flying into the zone left him with space to beat Mastowski on the right side of the net to give the Eagles their lead with 2:33 left in the first.

Adding to that lead would be Peca in the second period on a shorthanded goal for the Eagles, their first of the season, after a neutral zone turnover by the Ravens. Senior defenseman Tommy Buis picked up the pick near the center of the ice and flying down the right side located Peca opposite of him for the shot into the top left corner of the net past Mastowski just under six minutes into the frame. 

In his own blemish of the game, sophomore forward Cooper Anderson picked up a loose puck near Blodgett, who came too far out of the crease to corral an initial look by sophomore forward John Sterling, beating the senior goalie on the wide-open right side to cut the deficit in half, 2-1, heading into the third and final period.

However, the Eagles would hold on for the win and see Peca tally his second goal of the game in part to another Franklin Pierce turnover, this time on the defensive end of the ice. Looking to tie things up with the extra attacker on, the turnover by the Ravens found the stick of Peca near the blue line and he rifled it on the empty net with 1:33 to go in regulation, solidifying the 3-1 win for Post who has now won six of their last seven conference games. 

BY THE NUMBERS  

• Matteo Peca finishes the game with two goals, marking the first time in his career in which he has had a multi-score game or multi-point game after 44 total games across three seasons 
• Drew Blodgett picked up his first win of the season between the pipes for Post University, making 25 saves on 26 attempts from Franklin Pierce University -- Blodgett dropped his first four starts of the season with two of those being conference games 
• This is only the second time in which Post University has won back-to-back games against Franklin Pierce University in the all-time series with the last one coming during the 2018-19 season when they won 5-4 on the road and then 5-1 at home between January 12th and January 29th 
• Sitting at six conference wins on the season, Post University is one win away from tying their single-season record for most conference wins in a season at seven which they did during the 2021-22 season 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University remains at the Sports Center of Connecticut this weekend as they take on Southern New Hampshire University in a crucial two-game set starting on Friday afternoon at 4:00 PM. Earlier this season, the Eagles were shut out by the Penmen during their two-game road series by 3-0 and 4-0 final scores and have lost eight straight games against them.