MIDDLEBURY, VT. – The nationally 15th-ranked University of New England men's hockey team jumped out to a 5-0 lead on its way to a 10-4 victory against Cortland Saturday afternoon at the Middlebury Holiday Classic. The Nor'easters improved to 8-3 and advanced to face Manhattanville in the championship game on Sunday. The Red Dragons dropped to 6-5-1 and will play host Middlebury at 2 p.m. on Sunday in the third-place game.

Sophomore Domenic Settimo (East Meadow/P.A.L. Junior Islanders) led Cortland with a pair of goals, his seventh and eighth of the season. Senior Jake Ballagh (Buffalo/New Hampshire Avalanche) and junior Sutter Donegan (Cicero/Buffalo Jr. Sabres) each netted a goal. Senior Nick Grupp collected two assists, while senior Trevor Veneklase (Brentwood, TN/Seahawks Hockey Club) and freshmen Nicholas Serio (Bayville/P.A.L. Junior Islanders) and Colby Seitz (Eden/Corpus Christi IceRays) each picked up an assist.

Senior Luca Durante (Brampton, ON/Aurora Tigers) started in goal for the Red Dragons, making 16 saves in 26:40. Junior Jack Riedell (Greensboro, NC/Charlotte Rush) stopped 15 shots in 22:49 before giving way to freshman Ronan Mobley (Playa Del Ray/New Hampshire Avalanche) who turned aside four shots over the final 10:31 in his first collegiate action.

Three different players scored two goals for the University of New England. Mike Tersoni and Ryan Kuzmich each recorded two goals and an assist, and Jayden Price scored twice. Garrett Devine tallied a goal and an assist, Daniel Winslow, Aidan Curran and Logan DiScanio each netted a goal, Jake Fuss contributed three assists, Chip Hamlett picked up two assists and five others collected one assist apiece. Goalie Billy Girard registered 31 saves.

The Nor'easters built a 3-0 lead after one period as DiScanio, Tersoni and Price each scored even-strength goals. The lead grew to 5-0 as Curran and Devine netted goals just over four minutes apart early in the second period. Settimo put Cortland on the scoreboard at 9:04 of the period on the power play with a wrist shot from the lower right circle after receiving a pass from below the end line. Donegan made it a 5-2 game at the 14:51 mark on a shot from the right side of the slot shortly after the Red Dragons killed off a New England power play.

Wilslow scored just under three minutes later before Settimo's second goal on a wrist shot from the left circle at 19:22 pulled Cortland back to within 6-3. The Nor'easters stole any momentum Cortland may have carried into the third period with a goal from Kuzmich just 1.3 seconds before the end of the period.

Price pushed New England's lead to 8-3 with an early third-period goal. Ballagh made it an 8-4 score with a deflection in front on Grupp's shot from the left point at 6:32, but Kuzmich and Tersoni capped the scoring for the 10-4 final.
 
Univ. of New England 10, Cortland 4

Score by periods:
Cortland        0-3-1        4
UNE              3-4-3      10

Scoring Summary (Goals-Assists) 
Cortland: Domenic Settimo 2-0, Sutter Donegan 1-0, Jake Ballagh 1-0, Nick Grupp 0-2, Colby Seitz 0-1, Nicholas Serio 0-1, Trevor Veneklase 0-1
UNE: Mike Tersoni 2-1, Ryan Kuzmich 2-1, Jayden Price 2-0, Garrett Devine 1-1, Daniel Winslow 1-0, Aidan Curran 1-0, Logan DiScanio 1-0, Jake Fuss 0-3, Chip Hamlett 0-2, Jacob Pellerin 0-1, Alex Sheehy 0-1, Anthony Sciucco 0-1, Chad Merrell 0-1, Jared Christy 0-1

Saves: Luca Durante (Cortland) 16 saves (5 GA in 26:40), Jack Riedell (Cortland) 15 saves (4 GA in 22:49), Ronan Mobley (Cortland) 4 saves (1 GA in 10:31); Billy Girard (UNE) 31 saves (4 GA in 60:00)

Shots on Goal: UNE 45 (18-11-16), Cortland 35 (8-15-12)
Penalties: UNE 3-6:00, Cortland 2-4:00
Power Play: Cortland 1-3, UNE 0-2

Records after game: Cortland (Red Dragons) 6-5-1, University of New England (Nor'easters) 8-3 (ranked 15th in Div. III)