PITTSBURGH — Freshman Ray Falso scored for Nazareth in the first period and senior Matt Manzella and junior Austin Romzek added third-period scores as visiting Nazareth recorded a 3-1 men’s hockey victory over Chatham in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference game.
The Golden Flyers were able to even their overall record at 3-3 while improving to 2-1 in conference action. Chatham, in its first season of intercollegiate play, dropped to 0-4-1 overall and 0-3 in the UCHC. Nazareth plays again Saturday at Lebanon Valley at 5 p.m.
“We did a nice job generating speed and creating opportunities for a hard-fought road win,” said Nazareth Coach George Roll. “Their team played hard and physical and blocked a lot of our shots, but we found a way to get it done.”
The Golden Flyers dominated the action with a 37-22 advantage in shots on goal, but they had to cling to a 1-0 lead for much of the game after misfiring on six power-play chances. Falso delivered his second goal of the season at 14:06 of the first with assists from line mates John Power and James McDonald.
Nazareth had a short-lived 5-on-3 power play in the third period, but it lasted just three seconds when Brian Miller was whistled for a delay of game penalty. The Golden Flyers finally cashed in at 8:14 when Manzella buried a one-timer shot from the right wing after receiving a pass from McDonald.
The Golden Flyers were less than two minutes away from a shutout win when the Cougars got on the scoreboard with Jace Burton scoring off assists from Clay Plyler and Cory King. Just seconds later, the Cougars had a chance to tie the score, but Nazareth goaltender Michael Tilford made one of his best saves of the game in thwarting an opportunity by Chatham’s Michael Thamert from the right face-off circle.
Then, with Chatham goalie Matt Calas on the bench in favor of an extra skater, Romzek sealed the win with an empty net goal after a shot from deep in the Nazareth zone.
Tilford was strong in goal for the Golden Flyers with 21 saves for his third win of the season. Calas made 34 saves for the Cougars.
