UNH come from behind to defeat X-Men

DURHAM, N.H. – Shane Eiserman (Newburyport, MA) and Marcus Vela (Burnaby, BC) recorded three points apiece to lead the University of New Hampshire men's hockey team to Sunday evening's 6-4 comeback victory in an exhibition game against St. Francis Xavier at the Whittemore Center.

UNH trailed 4-1 late in the second period but scored five consecutive goals, including four in the third period, to rally for the win. Eiserman, who scored the second goal to ignite the comeback as well as the game-winning goal midway through the third period, finished with two goals and an assist. Vela tallied three assists.

Matias Cleland (Longmont, CO) and Andrew Poturalski (Williamsville, NY) both recorded a goal and an assist and eight other Wildcats tallied one point. Richard Boyd (Delray Beach, FL) and Harry Quast (Chagrin Falls, OH) netted the other UNH goals.

Starting goaltender Danny Tirone (Trumbull, CT) played the first two periods and was credited with 14 saves. Adam Clark (Sherwood Park, AB) shut out the X-Men in the third period with a six-save effort.

The X-Men were led offensively by Eric Locke (Toronto, ON) who scored two goals, and Nathan Chiarlitti (Maple, ON) with two assists. Nathan Pancel (Ottawa, ON) and Cory MacIntosh (North Sydney, NS) scored the other goals. Brandon Hope (Canton, MI) went the distance between the pipes and stopped 29 shots; he recorded double-digit saves in the first (10) and third (11) periods.

New Hampshire entered the third period facing a 4-2 deficit with 61 seconds remaining on a power play. The Wildcats sustained possession in the offensive zone but did not generate a shot during that skater advantage.

StFX was whistled for too many skaters on the ice at 2:08 and another X-Men skater was sent to the penalty box four seconds later to give the 'Cats a two-skater advantage for 1:56. The X-Men survived the two-skater penalty kill by allowing just three shots but Quast, with the assistance of Vela and Eiserman, scored one second before the second power play expired – at 4:11 – to pull within 4-3.

UNH tied the score, 4-4, at 7:28 when Poturalski wristed a shot from the right circle inside the far post. Tyler Kelleher (Longmeadow, Mass.), with the swing pass from the slot, and Cameron Marks (North Vancouver, British Columbia), were credited with assists.

The 'Cats took their first lead of the game, 5-4, when Cleland's shot from the right point ricocheted off Eiserman in the slot into the net at 10:22. Vela pick up his third assist of the game.

Clark preserved that one goal lead in the 13th minute when he made a kick save on Erin Hoyles' one-timer from the slot. One minute later, Chiarlitti's one-timer from the slot was enveloped by Clark.

UNH extended the advantage to 6-4 with a power-play goal at 18:39 when Cleland finished a feed from Poturalski. Dan Correale (Prince George, BC) also tallied an assist.

New Hampshire finished with a 35-24 shot advantage that included 15-6 in the third period. Both teams were 2-for-5 on the power play.

StFX took a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 7:18 of the first period. Blake Gal's (Lethbridge, AB) initial shot from the slot sailed wide of the cage, as did Mark Tremaine's (Dartmouth, NS) wrister off the rebound from the right circle. Locke corralled the puck behind the net, however, and jammed the puck inside the left post on a wraparound.

The Wildcats tied the score, 1-1, at 16:05 of the opening stanza. Kyle Smith (Lumberton, NJ) snapped an outlet pass from the defensive zone to Collin MacDonald (West Milford, NJ), who carried the puck through the neutral zone to the top of the right circle. MacDonald dropped the puck for Boyd, who skated down the slot before firing a shot inside the left post.

The visitors scored three consecutive goals in the second period to build a 4-1 lead. In the opening minute, Michael Clarke's (Peterborough, ON) slap shot from the high slot caromed off the pipe. One minute later at the other end of the ice, Vela corralled a loose puck at the right point and found Warren Foegele (Unionville, ON) streaking down the slot. Foegele's initial shot was stopped by Hope, who also made a right leg pad save off the rebound to deny Foegele a second time.

The X-Men regained the lead, 2-1, with another power-play goal at 4:35. Chiarlitti's shot from the high slot was stopped by Tirone, but the rebound sat at the top of the crease and Pancel pushed the puck into the net. Bronson Mashmeyer (Bruderheim, AB ), with the centering pass from the right point, was also credited with an assist.

StFX netted goals 15 seconds apart to quickly push the advantage to three goals. Chiarlitti initiated the scoring sequence on the team's third goal on a pass from the right circle down low to Clarke, who slipped a pass to Locke in the low slot. Locke pulled the puck to the left post and tucked a shot into the net at 11:54.

MacIntosh potted an unassisted goal at 12:09 when he gathered the puck in the neutral zone along the right boards. He advanced to the circle and backhanded a centering pass that deflected off a UNH defender into the cage.

UNH generated a dangerous scoring chance at 16:35. Dylan Maller (Parkland, FL) blasted a slap shot from the left point wide of the near post. Foegele, positioned at the right post, corralled the rebound off the end boards and attempted to stuff the puck short side, but Hope slid across the crease for the save.

The Wildcats pulled within 4-2 at 16:52 when Maller saucered a pass across the slot and Eiserman fired a shot from the right circle inside the near post. Vela earned a secondary assist on the play.

Courtesy UNH Communications