WILKES-BARRE – A four-goal explosion in the second period propelled Neumann University to a 7-1 victory over the Wilkes men's ice hockey team in their Friday night UCHC matchup at the Toyota SportsPlex.
 
The Colonels suffered their eighth loss of the season, falling to 16-8-0 overall and 14-5-0 in the UCHC. Neumann advanced to 7-15-1 and 7-11-1 in conference play.
 
Neumann opened the scoring at 14:01 of the first period shortly after a Colonel power play came up empty. Yancy Whitaker buried a loose rebound to the back of the net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Tyler Kulas assisted on Whitaker's ninth of the season.
 
The Colonels were awarded their third man advantage of the evening at 18:51, but were unable to capitalize before the period expired. After 20 minutes of action, Neumann held a 1-0 lead. Despite the deficit, Wilkes outshot the Knights 17-11 and went 7-10 at the faceoff circle.
 
Joe DiGiulio doubled the Neuman lead early on in the second period. Cameron Hatziioannou and TJ Ezzrd picked up assists on the 2-0 goal at 4:15.
 
Less than two minutes later, Tyler Inlow lit the lamp to expand the Knights' lead to 3-0. Luke Croucher recorded the lone assist on the play at 5:59.
 
Neumann continued to make the most of their scoring chances as Tony Andrews received a pass from Whitaker and found the back of the net at 7:44 of the middle frame. Whitaker and Kulas were both credited with assists on the goal.
 
Just under a minute later, Inlow notched his second of the night to build the Colonels' deficit to five. Hunter Litman assisted on the goal at 8:45.
 
After the four-goal period for Neumann, they took a hefty 5-0 lead into the second intermission. The Knights outshot Wilkes 12-9 while the Colonels dominated the faceoff dot, winning 20 of 30 draws.
Despite a pair of third period power plays for Neumann, the Colonels were able to slow the Knights' momentum thanks to six timely saves by netminder Duncan Rolleman (New Hamburg, ON).
 
The relentless Neumann offense continued to pressure Wilkes in their own zone, resulting in PJ Demitrio finding the back of the net midway through the final frame. Joe DiGiulio and JD Speer picked up helpers on the 6-0 goal at 9:55.
 
Shortly thereafter, Inlow completed the hat trick on a Neumann power play at 12:07. Assists went to Demitrio and DiGiulio.
 
The Knights would head to yet another power play, however the Colonel penalty kill got a jolt of energy thanks to Christian Blomquist (Wauwatosa, WI/). After breaking up a play near the Wilkes blue line, Blomquist skated the puck down the ice on a partial breakaway and buried his third goal of the season to end Neumann's shutout bid. The unassisted 7-1 goal came at 16:08.
 
Joe Johnson (Midland, MI/) led the team with seven shots on goal, followed by Nick Swain's (Jackson, NJ) five-shot performance. Billy Berry (Redding, CT) won 15 draws and boasted a 68.2 percent faceoff win percentage. Steven Spetz (Oak Ridge, NJ/) and Cole Jungwirth (Bloomington, MN/) each recorded three blocks on the evening while Jack Perna (Sykesville, MD) and Rolleman combined for 28 saves.
 
Inlow's hat trick led the way for the Knight and DiGiulio recorded a team-high eight shots on goal. Hatziioannou contributed on both ends of the ice, tallying a point and three blocks. Cole DeFazio stopped 35 of 36 shots he faced.
 
The Colonels return to the Toyota SportsPlex tomorrow night for their Senior Day regular season finale against Neumann. Puck drop against the Knights is slated for 7:00 p.m.