FALL RIVER, Mass. – After dropping the first two games of the season series earlier this season, the Roger Williams University Men's Ice Hockey team picked up their first win over the Rams of Suffolk University on Tuesday evening at Driscoll Arena, 5-3, in a Conference of New England (CNE) contest.
 
The Hawks were outshot 40-21, but were able to get into the path of 13 shots, with Colin Kwak (Alpharetta, Ga.) blocking four shot attempts by the Rams while Daxton St. Hilaire (Lewiston, Maine) had three. Nick Palmer (Long Lake, Minn.) and JJ Alger (Brewster, Mass.) each had a pair on the night, while five Hawks finished with a plus two night. In goal, Jacob Jaslow (Tomkins Cove, N.Y.) tallied 37 saves, while allowing three goals on the 40 shots that he faced.
 
For Suffolk, Tommy Whitford had three blocked shots in the game, while the Rams saw Aidan O'Connell finish with an assist, and Michael Gallagher and Marko Giourof took part in all three goals. Nolan Leonard went 14-for-20 in his faceoffs on the night, while the goaltender, first-year Austin McNicholas, made 16 saves. In total, the Rams won the faceoff battle 50-23.
 
The Rams were the first to strike as Giourof put a shot past Jaslow 1:13 into the second period, after a scoreless first, with assists awarded to Gallagher and Nick Liotino. The Hawks answered just over seven minutes later, when Alger tallied his first of the night, off of helpers by Daxton St. Hilaire and Kwak. With 5:40 remaining in the second, the Hawks struck again as Bo Clark (Granger, Ind.) tallied his first goal of the season, putting the Hawks up 2-1.
 
Entering trailing, the Rams saw Gallagher score the tying goal 5:35 into the final period of regulation, with Giourof finding him on the pass, knotting the game at 2 apiece. Giourof then put Suffolk up 3-2, just 3:18 after, giving Suffolk their second lead of the game and first since the 8:30 mark into the second period. Roger Williams did not back down as a bouncing puck made its way out to TJ Sullivan (Melrose, Mass.), who rifled a shot into the back of the net, to level the score at 3-3 with 10:08 remaining.
 
The Hawks were outshot, 20-3, in the third period, but cashed in on all three of their shots on target, as Daxton St. Hilaire put in the go-ahead goal with 4:37 remaining in regulation, before Alger closed out the game with an empty net goal with just under 15 seconds remaining.
 
Roger Williams (5-8-0, 3-4-0 CNE) will face off against #9 Curry on Friday, Jan. 9, in Canton, Mass., for the first of a home-and-home series against the Colonels.  The Hawks will host Curry on Saturday, ahead of a home-and-home against Western New England, with both series holding CNE stakes.