WILKES-BARRE – The No. 4 seeded Wilkes University men's ice hockey team could not overcome a 3-0 hole in an eventual 5-2 loss in a United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) Opening Round game against No. 5 seed Nazareth College Tuesday night at the Toyota SportsPlex.

The Colonels excellent inaugural season came to an end with the playoff defeat. Wilkes finished its first season of competition with a 16-8-2 overall record. Nazareth improved to 12-7-7 overall and advanced to the UCHC Semifinal Round to face No. 1 seed Utica College this weekend.

Wilkes pressured the Golden Flyers net for the duration of the game as the Colonels held a 39-19 shots on goal advantage but could not find the game-tying goal in the third period before Nazareth added two empty net goals.

Nazareth took the first of 17 combined penalties in the game at the 3:39 mark of the first period as each team was sent to the box regularly for infractions. Tyson Araujo (Oak Bluffs, MA/) recorded the only shot on goal during the first man advantage for the Colonels but Sean Kuhn was able to make the save. Wilkes then was sent to the box at the 6:12 mark for hooking and the Golden Flyers made the Colonels pay with a power play goal 36 seconds later off the stick of Ray Falso to take a 1-0 lead.

The Colonels went to the power play again at the 7:29 mark but took a penalty of their own to negate the extra-man chance just 37 seconds after it started. After each player left the box and play went back to 5-on-5, Nazareth stuck for the 2-0 lead. J.R. Wojciechowski's shot from the point found its way through traffic and into the net to put the Golden Flyers ahead by two 10:09 into the first period.

Two more times in the first period the Colonels had a power play cut short by being sent to the penalty box and the first 20-minutes ended with the score 2-0 in favor of the visitors.

Donald Flynn (Randolph, NJ) hit the post on a shot from a bad angle early in the second period and the Colonels went to the penalty box at the 5:54 mark for a too many men on the ice penalty. James McDonald then scored 19 seconds into the extra-man opportunity to give Nazareth a 3-0 lead.

The Colonels found life when the Golden Flyers went to the box for a boarding call at the 7:48 mark. It was Araujo who found the net behind Kuhn off assists from Flynn and Tyler Barrow (Massapequa, NY/) on the power play at the 9:12 mark of the second period to make the score 3-1.

Wilkes went back to the power play 12:21 into the period after a tripping call. Shots by Araujo, Taylor Bommarito (Sterling Heights, MI/) and Flynn were saved while two more Colonels chances were blocked and one went wide on an active power play. The pressure paid off as just 17 seconds after the Nazareth player returned to the ice the Colonels lit the lamp. This time Phil Erickson (Eau Claire, WI/) put home a rebound after Kuhn stopped a shot from the slot by Brendan Logan (Matthews, NC). Logan and Devon Schell (Scarsdale, NY/) picked up assists on the goal that made the score 3-2 with 5:22 left in the second period.

The Colonels began to fly around the ice as they kept the pressure on the Golden Flyers and at the 16:40 mark earned a power play after Nazareth was called for too many men. However, Wilkes was able to put just one shot on goal during the two-minute opportunity. A Kneeing call put Nazareth on a power play with 23 seconds left in the period that carried over to the third period.

Brandon Gordon (Sault Ste. Marie, MI/) made two saves to kill off the penalty at the beginning of the third period but the Colonels went to the box again just 3:35 into the third for a holding penalty. The Wilkes penalty kill did a great job as it did not allow a shot on goal and Paul Cimilluca (Colonia, NJ/) registered one blocked shot.

Wilkes began to pressure the Golden Flyers net looking for the equalizing goal but Kuhn made four consecutive saves over the next several minutes. Wilkes went back on the power play following a hitting from behind penalty at the 12:49 mark and nearly tied the game but Flynn's shot hit the post. Then Wilkes ended its own power play for the fourth time in the game with a hooking penalty at the 14:12 mark.

Gordon made one of six key third period stops with just under three minutes remaining and then headed to the bench for the extra attacker. Alex Corvi took advantage of that as he scored into the empty net at the 18:15 mark and then Brad Pizzey did the same at the 19:18 mark to bring the score to 5-2.

Gordon made 14 saves in the game as the Colonels freshman goaltender finished the season with a 14-8-2 record between the pipes. Kuhn made 37 saves for the Golden Flyers.

Araujo, Flynn and Chris Dalfarra (Warrington, PA/) each recorded six shots on goal in the game while Dalfarra and Cimilluca finished with a plus-one rating for the Colonels.

Falsco and Corvi had a goal and an assist for the Golden Flyers while Wojceichowski finished with a plus-three rating.