Men's Ice Hockey: Eagles Hold Off Coast Guard In Prep For Playoffs, 3-2

Nashua - Looking for much needed momentum in their regular season finale with the playoffs looming, the Daniel Webster College men's ice hockey team got what it needed, grinding out a 3-2 victory over Coast Guard on Senior Night Saturday at Conway Arena.

Senior Matt Collette (Oceanside, N.Y.) set up two goals and junior goalie Eric Burgess (Nashua) sparkled with 42 saves as the Eagles finished up 11-4 overall (8-2 NECHA), halting a two-game slide in the process.

The Eagles, who are enjoying just their third winning season in program history, now await their playoff opponent. As the NECHA Colonial North regular season champion, the Eagles have earned a first round quarterfinal bye in the upcoming six-team tourney (which includes the Colonial South Division) and will play in the semifinal round on Saturday, February 20^th.

The championship is scheduled for the following day. All three final four games will be played at Conway Arena. Playoff seedings will be released by the NECHA office this week.

Sophomores Jonathan Newell (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Shawn Glidden (W. Bridgewater, Mass.) along with rookie Ryan Lent (Londonderry, N.H.) scored for the Eagles with Lent's proving to be the eventual game winner.

A sloppy first period in which both teams struggled to find any offensive rhythm led to a scoreless frame.

The Eagles would do all their damage in the second. Newell got the hosts on the board popping home a Collette pass close in front 1:48 into the period and Gliddden would make it 2-0 just over four minutes later, stealing an errant pass and walking in alone to beat Bears goalie Justin Ryan.

Lent would make it 3-0 with a nifty backhander that deflected past Ryan on the power play as Collette again assisted.

Coast Guard would steal one late as Bryan Koch redirected a Ben Yahle pass over Burgess's right shoulder with 36 seconds left for a 3-1 game after two.

Burgess, meanwhile enjoyed a stellar second, stoning one breakaway chance and made two more nifty stops to preserve the lead.

Coast Guard made things interesting when Spencer McFarland beat Burgess with 3:36 left and the Bears pressured in the final minute, but Burgess held ground and the Eagles held on.

Coast Guard would finish with a 44-29 shots advantage as Ryan would finish with 26 saves on the night.

Along with Collette, the program honored fellow seniors Danny Taylor (Nashua), Adam Ziaja (Dracut, Mass.) and Sam Stoia (Dillon, Colo.) during pregame ceremonies.