Box Score

HENNIKER, N.H.—New England College men's ice hockey would hold off a late Thoroughbred run topping visiting Skidmore College 5-4 in ECAC East action Saturday afternoon.
 
With the win the Pilgrims improve to 4-1-0 overall and 3-1-0 in ECAC East play.  The loss drops the Thoroughbreds to 1-3-0 overall and in the ECAC East.
 
NEC would open the scoring just 2:18 into the opening period as Matt Abbott (Kirkland, Quebec) would score his first goal of the season rebounding in a shot from first-year defender Andre Stalberg (Alingsas, Sweden). The two teams would battle through the remainder of the opening period scoreless as the Pilgrims would hold the 12-7 advantage in shots.
 
Skidmore would knot the game at 1-1 just 1:02 into the second period as Tony Giacin (St. Louis, Mo.) would score assisted Aaron Beck (Maribel, Wis.).  NEC would regain the lead just seconds later as Ed Dwyer (Orchard Park, N.Y.) put in a pass from Niko Uola (Turku, Finland) 43 seconds later.
 
The Pilgrims closed out the period with three unanswered power-play goals, including one from Niko Uola and another from Jacob Andersson (Mjolby, Sweden), giving NEC the 5-1 lead heading into the final period.
 
Skidmore would not go down without a fight as the Thoroughbreds cut the lead to 5-2 four minutes into the third as Tim Colvin (Brunswick, Ohio)  recorded his first collegiate goal assisted by Nick Dupuis (Holyoke, Mass.) and Vlad Gavrik (Kharkiv, Ukraine). Skidmore would tack on two more goals late in the game, including a second goal from Tony Giacin and a score by Eric Nilsson (Stockholm, Sweden), as the Thoroughbreds would trail just 5-4 with 1:10 remaining in regulation.
 
Skidmore pulled its goalie late but the NEC defense closed out the game, keeping the Thoroughbreds off the board in the final minute to solidify the 5-4 victory.
 
Skidmore finished the game with the slight 40-34 advantage in shots.
 
Picking up the win in goal for NEC was Shawn Sirman (Blezard Valley, Ontario) who recorded 36 saves.  In goal for Skidmore was Colin Bessey (Montclair, N.J.) who stopped 29 Pilgrim shots.
 
NEC returns to action on Friday, Nov. 18 when they travel to take on ECAC East rival Norwich University.  Skidmore College will hit the ice on Friday, Nov. 18 when they host ECAC East opponent UMass-Boston.