NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – New England College recorded a goal in each period enroute to a 3-1 win over UMass Dartmouth in Little East men's hockey action on Saturday at Hetland Arena. The Pilgrims move to 3-1-1 overall and 2-1-1 in conference play, while the Corsairs slip to 3-3-0 and 0-2-0 in the LEC.
 
New England College struck first in the opening period as winger Egor Osipik picked up a pass from Logan Nickerson and fired a shot past the reach of Corsairs goalie Ethan Kowatsch at 15:15. It was a shorthanded marker.
 
The Pilgrims struck again at 11:26 of the second period as Emil Elias converted a feed from Chancey Novosad for the 2-0 advantage. Eiji Hofmann earned the secondary assist on the marker.
 
UMass Dartmouth responded on the power play at 15:36 as sophomore winger Deaglan Kelly chipped the puck up to classmate Kailin Chen in the near circle. Chen navigated into the front of the net, sending a quick pass to the far circle as junior defender Brennen Pecararo rifled it in to make it a one-goal game (2-1).
 
Into the third period, the Corsairs worked to even the score, but NEC goalie Anthony Beaulieu held strong, recording four saves in less than a minute to hold off the UMD onslaught. Kelly had another solid opportunity with the goalie pulled for the extra skater, but the Pilgrims answered on the other end as Matteo Viglino scored the empty netter.
 
In the final 30 seconds, the Corsairs saw senior center Doug Doren and sophomore winger Chris Cardillo both fire shots on net, but Beaulieu held strong for the win.
 
Chen went 14-21 in the faceoff circle, while junior defender Noah Webster recorded a game-best seven blocked shots on the night. Pecararo added three blocked shots in addition to the goal, while sophomore winger Levee Pakozdi also had three blocked shots.
 
In goal, Kowatsch recorded 22 saves, including 13 in the third period of play.
 
UMass Dartmouth returns to action next weekend, traveling to Norwich and VTSU Castleton on Friday and Saturday, respectively.