ASTON, Pa. – The Arcadia University men's ice hockey team dropped a Middle Atlantic Conference contest to Neumann University, 5-2, on Friday evening. The Knights (7-9-3, 4-8-3) received a power-play goal from Connor Williams in the first period and another tally from Chris Benkovitz late in the second, but were unable to overcome a strong special teams performance by the host Knights.

Ryan Burgess made the start in goal for Arcadia and finished with 36 saves. Neumann held a 41-31 edge in shots on goal and won the faceoff battle, 42-38, with Cody Matsay leading Arcadia by winning a game-high 18 draws. Arcadia converted one of eight power-play opportunities, while Neumann capitalized on three of its five chances with the man advantage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After Cody Matsay won the opening faceoff, Arcadia generated the first two shots of the game, but Neumann opened the scoring just 52 seconds into the contest to take a 1-0 lead.
• Arcadia looked to respond with shots from Brendan Dicker and Jared Shuter, but a penalty sent Neumann to the power play, where the hosts struck again to make it 2-0 five minutes into the first period.
• Just over a minute later, Neumann extended its lead to 3-0 with another power-play goal.
• Late in the first period, Arcadia went on the power play and, after Aidan Anderson's shot went wide, Connor Williams collected the puck and scored to cut the deficit to 3-1. The goal marked Williams' fifth of the season, sending the Knights into the first intermission trailing by two.
• Five minutes into the second period, Neumann pushed its lead back to three with its third power-play goal of the game.
• Two minutes later, Chris Benkovitz answered for Arcadia, scoring his fourth goal of the season off assists from Brendan Dicker and Aidan Anderson to make it 4-2.
• Arcadia continued to press offensively in the third period, but was unable to find the equalizer. Neumann sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the final minutes.

KNIGHT LEADERS

Goals: Williams (1), C. Benkovitz (1)
Assists: Dicker (1), Anderson (1)
Points: Williams (1), C. Benkovitz (1), Dicker (1), Anderson (1)
Blocked Shots: Grant Burback (1), Russ Tedesco (1), Zach Garnsey (1), Nate McFarlane (1), Jude Cole (1), Wesley Crofoot (1)
Saves: Burgess (36)

UP NEXT

The Knights return to action Saturday afternoon as they travel to Annville, Pa., for a conference matchup with Lebanon Valley. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.

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