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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Chip Hamlett pounced on a rebound in the slot and scored through a screen with 7:28 left in the 3rd period as the University of New England defeated No.8 Curry College by a 2-1 margin in Conference of New England (CNE) men's ice hockey action Friday night (Dec. 6) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

It is the second nationally-ranked victory this season for the Nor'easters (6-3-1, 5-2-0 CNE), who pull even with the Colonels (8-3-0, 5-2-0) atop the league standings at 16 points. The teams will complete the home-and-home on Saturday afternoon in Canton, Massachusetts.

What proved to be the deciding play started with Hamlett keeping an attempted clear in the offensive zone at the right wall, and then he fed it to Kevin O'Keefe for a shot from the point. Curry netminder Shane Soderwall made the stop, but the puck rolled out to Hamlett, who settled it to his forehand and snapped one inside the right post [Watch]. It was the second straight game with a goal for the defenseman.
 
The visitors 4:17 of the final 4:31 with an extra skater, however, between a power play and then pulling Soderwall. Down the stretch, the Colonels fired off 13 shots to UNE's one, testing Joey Stanizzi for six of his 11 saves in the period. David Wilcox added a pair of blocked shots to help the Nor'easters hold strong.

UNE's lone try in the closing span nearly iced the result, as Drew Olivieri emerged from a neutral-zone scramble to send one towards the empty net with just over one minute left. But Manny Cabral dove in for a stick block before taking it the distance for a look at the other end [Watch].

Stanizzi wound up with 22 stops, and Jacob Pellerin had a team-best three blocks for the hosts.

The Nor'easters were the first on the board, with six minutes on the clock in the 2nd period. Just moments after clearing a penalty to gain a 5-on-3 advantage, Olivieri and Pellerin set up Dominic Murphy for a one-timer from the left circle that beat Soderwall on the near-side top corner [Watch]. It was Murphy's eighth goal of the year and Olivieri's 10th assist; among conference players, both marks are at the top of the ranks.

Curry answered 2:48 later, though, when Taurin Haddon-Harris won an offensive faceoff back to Grady Friedman for a goal through a crowd in front.

On the evening, Soderwall had 27 saves for the Colonels.

Olivieri and Ike Keller guided UNE in the faceoff department, winning a combined 18 of 27 draws.