HERSHEY, Pa. – Jered Stevenson and Haralds Jirgens each had two points on a goal and an assist for the Lebanon Valley men's ice hockey team in a tough 4-3 defeat to Neumann University on Saturday evening at Hersheypark Arena.
 
The Dutchmen scored first against the Knights for the second straight night as Jirgens scored his second goal of the weekend at 15:13 of the first period. Stevenson assisted on the power-play goal. The teams had battled up and down the ice for the first 15 minutes of the game with each time having a successful penalty kill. The Dutchmen put two shots on goal in each of their power-play opportunities in the first period. Neumann was held without a shot on their power-play opportunity. The Knights were able to tie the game up two and a half minutes later. Neumann used the momentum of scoring the tying-goal to put three more shots on goal in the final two minutes. Gabriel Pigeon denied all three attempts and the teams headed into the first intermission tied at one for the second straight night.
 
The Dutchmen started the second period on a power-play thanks to a bench minor by the Knights. Neumann was able to score a short-handed goal 1:40 into the period on a breakaway after Pigeon stopped the first shot attempt. Neumann increased their lead to 3-1 with a goal at 3:57 before scoring again at 9:19 on a power-play. LVC pressed over the final 10 minutes to cut into the lead and was able to cut the advantage down to two goals at 16:57 as Stevenson redirected a Artem Mikhaylov shot into the back of the net. Jirgens was also awarded an assist on the team's second power-play goal of the night.
 
LVC came out of the second intermission on a mission to finish the game strong. Brenden Yingling fired a shot that was saved in the opening minutes and then Jirgens and Ian Linberg had shots saved right before the five-minute mark. LVC killed off a power-play before going right back on the offensive as Darion Benchich and Jackson Legro had shots stopped. The Dutchmen were able to break through the Neumann defense at 15:37 as Justin Davis lit the lamp off assists by Cameron Croteau and Benchich to make it a one-goal game. LVC held the Knights without a shot the rest of the way but were unable to score the tying goal.
 
Inside the Box

• Jirgens scored for the second straight night and added an assist to finish the weekend with three points. The junior also blocked three shots.
• Stevenson scored his third goal of the year and added his third assist.
• Davis led the team in shots with five while scoring his second goal of the year.
• Blake Tosto was great on faceoffs winning 14 of his 18 attempts.
• Pigeon made 24 saves in goal with eight in the first period, nine in the second, and seven in the third.
• The Dutchmen scored a season-high two power-play goals on four opportunities. They were successful on four of five penalty kills. 

Up Next
The Dutchmen will finish out the first semester next weekend with a pair of games against Chatham University at Hersheypark Arena. Friday and Saturday night's games will both begin at 7 p.m.

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