MIDDLETOWN, CT.- The Wesleyan men's hockey team blanks SNHU 5-0, to extend their unbeaten streak to six games heading into the heart of NESCAC conference play. Coach Potter decided to go with Nate Romanelli '23 in net, and the choice paid off with the senior putting together a 28 save shutout, the first of his career. After a relatively slow first two period of action that saw few shots and only one Wesleyan goal, the Cardinals exploded for four third period goals to put the game away. Wesleyan is now 9-2-2 on the year, while SNHU drops to 5-12.

It was a slow start to the game for both teams, with only three shots reaching goal over the first five minutes. As the period went on the two offenses began to warm up, with Wesleyan finishing the period with 14 shots on goal. The Cardinals came through midway through the period to break the scoreless tie. Jack Kane '25 took a wrist shot from the blue line that was turned aside with a pad save by the Penman's Adam Mercer. Greg Peterson '24 gathered the rebound and was able to beat Mercer glove side from point blank range to give the Cardinals the 1-0 advantage. Wesleyan would close the period with a power play chance, but was only able to muster one shot on goal, keeping the score 1-0 heading into the second period.

The Penman went on a power play to begin the second period looking to even the score at one. Romanelli stood tall in the face of three shots on net to escape the two-minute penalty kill unscathed. SNHU had a flurry of attacks late in the period that put pressure on the Wesleyan defense and Romanelli. The Penman went on two big flurries to end the second period. First with five minutes to go, they produced seven shots in just over 30 seconds, but a combination of Romanelli saves and blocked shots kept the score at 1-0. Then in the final two minutes they were once again on the attack, manufacturing eight shots in just over a minute. Romanelli made five saves and the defense was able to deflect the others to send the two teams into the final period with the score 1-0 in favor of the Cardinals.

The Wesleyan offense came to life in the third period, scoring four goals to put the game away and give them their ninth win of the season. Owen Sweet '25 started off the scoring for the Cardinals, picking up a loose puck in front of the net and beating the SNHU goaltender five-hole to extend the lead to two. Next it was Wiggle Kerbrat '23 who went flying down the left side of the ice a minute later, sniping a wrister five-hole again for the Cardinals' third goal of the game. Number four came midway through the 3^rd period, as Kerbrat got his 2^nd of the game off a rebound in front of the net. Andrew Pratt '23 put the exclamation point on a nice non-conference victory for Wesleyan with a power play goal in the final minutes of the game.

Wesleyan outshot SNHU 30-28. The Cardinals capitalized on two of their six power play chances, while the Penman failed to capitalize on all four of their opportunities. Romanelli claimed his first shutout of his career, making a career-high 28 saves. This is Wesleyan's 2^nd time blanking an opponent, with the first time coming back on opening night against Connecticut College. Kerbrat had two goals tonight, his 2^nd two-goal game of 2022-23. He now leads the NESCAC with 11 goals. Mike Dunderdale '23 and Jeremy Abraham '24 had two assists each.

Wesleyan will return to the ice Friday January 20^th, where they will compete against NESCAC opponent Connecticut College. The Cardinals defeated the Camels at home opening night 3-0.