Lebanon Valley 5, Nazareth 2

LVC Starters
Takacsi-Nagy (LW), Hepler (C), Wendling (RW), Yingst (D), Straub (D), Eisenhower (G)

Nazareth Starters
Janzen (LW), Miller (C), Romzek (RW), Paluch (D), Walter (D), Tilford (G)

How It Happened
HERSHEY, Pa. – Brett Johnson recorded a hat trick and Joel Eisenhower registered 33 saves in Lebanon Valley's 5-2 victory over Nazareth College on Saturday afternoon in UCHC men's ice hockey action. The Dutchmen now sit at 2-3-1, 2-1-1 UCHC, while the Golden Flyers dropped to 3-4, 2-2 UCHC.

After defeating No. 13 Utica last night in one of the Dutchmen's biggest wins in program history, they didn't let go of the gas pedal tonight. Johnson netted LVC's first two goals of the afternoon, beginning at 9:45 when he found the back of the net off an assist from TJ Sneath. Later in the first, at 12:45, with the Dutchmen on the power play, Johnson netted another tally, this time from Bryan Hovanec and Jared Karas, giving LVC an early 2-0 advantage. Four minutes later, at 16:15, Kevin Van Bokkelen scored with the Dutchmen on the power play again, from Nick Skerlick and Mike Straub, and LVC finished a dominating period with three goals.

At the 9:56 mark of the second period, Johnson recorded the hat trick when he scored yet-another PP goal from Cole Hepler and Hovanec, increasing the Dutchmen's lead to 4-0. Six minutes later, Nazareth's Ray Falso scored on the power play to bring the Golden Flyers to within three at 4-1. The three-goal advantage for LVC held up heading into the third period.

Early on in the third, Eisenhower was making some huge saves for the Dutchmen to preserve the three-goal lead. Perhaps his best save of the night came just under four minutes into the third when a nice series of passes lead to a quality scoring chance for Nazareth, but Eisenhower was there to make the pad save. To see a clip of Eisenhower's save, check out the video below.



With just under five minutes remaining in regulation, Hepler put the game out of reach with a power-play goal from Johnson and Hovanec. The Golden Flyers got one back late, but the Dutchmen were able to easily hold on for the 5-2 win.

Inside the Numbers
 - Johnson's three goals now give him five goals on the season to lead the team. He also let off a team-high eight shots on goal today.
 - Hepler finished with a goal and an assist for LVC.
 - Hovanec notched three assists on the afternoon.
 - Eisenhower made 33 saves in the game, including 17 in the third period.
 - Hepler went 14-for-22 inside the faceoff circle.
 - The Dutchmen held the slight edge in total faceoff wins at 35-34.
 - Today's game featured a total of 23 penalties.

Who's Next?
LVC enjoys a nice 12-day break before its next game. The Dutchmen are next in action on Friday, Dec. 1 at Bryn Athyn at 7 p.m.

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