Box l Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- With Neumann's extra attacker on the ice for the final 1:22 of regulation, host Nazareth held off the Knights 3-2 in an ECAC West hockey game Saturday afternoon. Neumann's final shot was an attempt from the right point that was deflected just wide of the Golden Flyers' net. Junior Ed Zdolshek made three saves in the final minutes to preserve the victory, and he finished with a game-high 32 saves. Sophomore Justin LaCorte, junior James Redman, and sophomore Dominik Gabaj scored Nazareth's goals.

Following the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 4-2-1 overall and 3-1-1 in ECAC West Conference games. With seven conference points, Nazareth is currently second in the standings. With the loss, the Knights, who lead the conference standings with eight points, fall to 4-2-1 overall and 4-2 in conference games. Hobart (six points) and Elmira (five points) are third and fourth in the standings, respectively, heading into their contest tonight at Hobart.

LaCorte put the Golden Flyers on the board 12:19 into the first period after receiving a pass from freshman John Power. Power played the puck out of the Nazareth zone up to LaCorte, who put his attempt into the top-shelf of the Neumann net. Zdolshek made 12 saves in the stanza to maintain the one-goal advantage going into the second. Neumann's Ben Curley made nine saves to hold the Golden Flyers to one goal.

The second period featured a pair of goals from each team. The Golden Flyers tallied a pair of goals sandwiched between Knights' goals. The Knights tied the score, 1-1, 3:03 into the second in transition. Jory Mullin scored from the top of the faceoff circle.

Redman's scoring chance was also scored in transition to reclaim the Golden Flyers' lead. Following a save by Zdolshek, junior Don Olivieri passed ahead to Redman. To the right of the Knights' net, Redman showed patience to let the Neumann defender, who was trying to block his shot, slide past him before scoring stick-side on Curley. Gabaj's goal came on the power play with 2:52 to play in the stanza to stretch the lead. With the man-advantage, Nazareth controlled the puck following a clear into the Knights' zone. Gabaj found the back of the net from near the right faceoff circle.

With only 2.4 seconds to play in the second, the Knights climbed to within one goal as they took advantage of a Golden Flyers' penalty. Nazareth was also working to get back into position following a line change. Neumann's Chris Bournazos' attempt was blocked to the back boards by Geoff Bagnall, however, Jon Low was there to pass the the puck in front of the Golden Flyers' net to Mike Davis. Davis slid a quick shot along the ice to cut the Knights' deficit to 3-2 going into the third.

The third period featured scoring chances for both teams. Nazareth's skaters also worked hard to keep the puck out of its defensive zone in the final minutes. Zdolshek tallied 11 saves in the period to maintain the Golden Flyers' lead. Curley had 10 saves in the stanza and finished with 25 in the game.

Neumann finished with a 34-28 advantage in shots on goal, while Nazareth had a 38-36 edge in faceoffs won. Blasko won 18 of 27 faceoffs to lead the Golden Flyers.

Nazareth travels to Massachusetts for a pair of non-conference games next weekend. The Golden Flyers play seventh-ranked Babson on the 29th and Amherst on the 30th. Nazareth returns to the Bill Gray's Iceplex on December 2nd to host 13th-ranked Geneseo in another non-conference contest.