CORTLAND, N.Y. - Sophomore Matthew Valois (Ottawa, ON/Brockville Braves) scored two goals and assisted on two others as the defending Division III national champion Neumann men's hockey team defeated Cortland, 5-2, Saturday afternoon to sweep the two-game weekend series. The Red Dragons fell to 5-8 with the loss, while the Knights improved to 7-4-2.

Senior Patrick Palmisano (Ann Arbor, MI/Bay State Breakers) and sophomore Ryan Markell (Columbus, ON/Ohio St.) scored Cortland's goals. Junior Jarrett Gold (East Setauket/NY Bobcats) and sophomore Joey Christiano (Rochester/Port Hope Predators) each registered assists. Sophomore goalie Brittan Kuhlman (Elkhorn, NE/Winnipeg Saints) made 25 saves.

Freshman Steve Gervais (Nepean, ON/Smith Falls Bears) scored his first career goal and chipped in with two assists for Neumann, and freshman Andrew Love (Mississauga, ON/Lindsey Muskies) recorded a goal and two assists. Freshman Jordan Zalba (Victoria, BC/Yorkton Terriers) also scored a goal, while four different players had one assist. Sophomore goalie Ross MacKinnon (Manchester, CT/Bridgewater Bandits) stopped 27 shots.

Valois opened the scoring at eight minutes, 51 seconds of the first period on a rebound goal right in front. Markell tied the game at 1-1 with a power-play goal from a sharp angle at 6:51 of the second period. Valois gave the Knights the lead for good on a top-shelf wrist shot from the slot at 12:38 of the second, and Zalba followed with a rebound goal on the power play 46 seconds later.

Neumann went ahead 4-1 just 51 seconds into the third period when Gervais stuffed the puck past Kuhlman in front. Palmisano cut the lead to 4-2 at 6:37 on a wrist shot from the left side after Gold dug the puck out of the left corner. Late in the game, before Cortland had a chance to pull Kuhlman for an extra skater, Love sealed the win when he finished off a 2-on-1 at 18:07.
 
Neumann 5, Cortland 2

Neumann       1-2-2        5
Cortland          0-1-1        2

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists)
Neumann: Matthew Valois 2-2, Steve Gervais 1-2, Andrew Love 1-2, Jordan Zalba 1-0, Matt Ward 0-1, Harley Garrioch 0-1, Dave Gooch 0-1, Marlon Gardner 0-1
Cortland: Patrick Palmisano 1-0, Ryan Markell 1-0, Jarrett Gold 0-1, Joey Christiano 0-1  

Saves: Ross MacKinnon (Neumann) 27 (2 GA in 60:00); Brittan Kuhlman (Cortland) 25 (5 GA in 60:00)
Shots on Goal: Neumann 30 (10-9-11), Cortland 29 (8-13-8)
Penalties: Neumann 11-33:00, Cortland 8-24:00
Power Play: Cortland 1-8, Neumann 1-4
Record after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 5-8; Neumann (Knights) 7-4-2