ASTON, PA — No. 4 Neumann scored the go-ahead goal with 7:14 remaining and held on for a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded Nazareth in the ECAC West quarterfinals Wednesday.  

It was a closely contested contest from start. "I thought we had a great effort tonight for 60 minutes," said head coach George Roll.  "We played well on both ends, unfortunately came out on wrong end tonight."

Nazareth closes out the season 8-14-4, while Neumann improves to 15-8-3.  The Knights will face Hobart College, the top overall seed, in the semifinals on Saturday night.  Second-seeded Manhattanville will host No. 3 Utica in the other semifinal.  

Nazareth's loss marks the final game for 13 seniors who will be part of the first graduating class for the hockey program.    

Roll holds extreme admiration for the senior class.  "These men took a chance on the program.  I'm really proud of them.  They represented the school in an outstanding manner and helped build the culture for the program.  Their mark will be felt positively for a long time." 

The Golden Flyers were plagued in the first period by penalties, giving Neumann three extra man opportunities.  Nazareth was up for the challenge, however, killing off all three successfully.

Austin Romzek got Nazareth on the board first off an assist from David Powlowski at the 11:56 mark.  

In the second, Nazareth went on consecutive power plays but were unable to cash in.  Following the completion of the second penalty, the Knights capitalized on a breakaway opportunity with a goal at the hands of Shane Topf.

The score remained 1-1 heading into the third period.

Early in the third period it appeared as if the Golden Flyers scored the go-ahead goal, however, it was immediately waved off by the official for a high stick.  

The Knights scored the game-winning goal with 7:14 remaining in the third period.  Johannes Sallila put home the goal, registering his first of the season.

Nazareth generated some scoring opportunities in the final minutes, but were unable to find the equalizer

Ed Zdolshek had a stellar day in net for Nazareth stopping 37-of-39 shots.  

Each team finished 0-3 on the power play in the game.