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Purple Knights News

January 18, 2010

This Week In Saint Michael's College Athletics: 1/11-1/17

COLCHESTER, Vt. - This week in Saint Michael's College athletics was one of the busier weeks we've seen this semester, as all six winter sports were in action over the weekend. Skiing made its' 2010 schedule debut with a 10th place finish at the Saint Lawrence University Carnival. Men's basketball had a standout week, as they were undefeated in their Northeast-10 contests, defeating Southern Connecticut 78-76 and the Pace Setters 63-48. Women's basketball was not as fortunate against these schools, as they were defeated 71-65 in overtime against Southern Connecticut, and 67-44 to the Setters. Men's ice hockey experienced back-to-back overtimes, tying Saint Anselm, 6-6, and New England College, 4-4. The women's ice hockey team also faced an overtime tie, as they drew 2-2 with Nichols College, but faced a 5-2 setback at Southern Connecticut the following afternoon. Swimming and diving traveled to Albany, N.Y. for a dual meet against the Saint Rose Golden Knights where the men swam to a 126-107 loss, as did the women, 128-108.

SKIING

The Purple Knights skiing team is back in action for 2010, as they opened their season with a 10th place finish at the Saint Lawrence University Carnival over the weekend.

On the Nordic side, freshman Colin Delaney (Lake Placid, N.Y/National Sports Academy) led the Purple Knights with a 17th-place finish in the men's 20-kilometer freestyle on Saturday. His effort is the best Nordic result for Saint Michael's since Jens Johansson in 1999. The previous day, Delaney had held a solid pace with a 31st-place finish in the 10 kilometer classic. Freshman Julia Saliy (Nizhniy Novgorod, Russia/Vermont Academy) led the Nordic women in Saturday's 15-kilometer freestyle, placing 63rd out of 87 competitive finishers.

In alpine action, senior Brad Harden (McConnellsville, N.Y./Northwood School) led the men in the slalom with a 17th-place finish, after having led the Purple Knights with a 26th-place finish the previous day. Freshman Gabbi Hall (Truckee, Calif./Forest Charter School) helped the women by placing 24th in the women's giant slalom on Friday and following up with a leading 33rd-place finish on Saturday.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (7-8, 3-8 NE-10)

The men's basketball team had one of their most successful weeks of the season, as they went 2-0 in their Northeast-10 conference games over the week. On Tuesday, the Purple Knights defeated the Southern Connecticut Owls 78-76 and followed the action up on Saturday with a 63-48 victory over Pace University. The 48 points the Setters were held to is the best for Saint Michael's since beating Norwich 78-40 on Nov. 15, 2008 -- a span of 40 games.

On Tuesday, sophomore co-captain Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) recorded his fifth double-double of the season, earning 15 points and 14 rebounds. Classmate Sam Cieplicki (South Burlington, Vt./New Hampton (N.H.) School) netted four 3-pointers and had a team-best 16 points in the contest, while sophomore Qua'ron Pinckney (Bronx, N.Y./Saint Benedict's Prep (N.J.)) and freshman Travis Warech (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) each contributed 12 points each.

On Saturday, Cieplicki again led the Purple Knights in points, netting 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds. Warech tallied 13 points, all of which came in the first half of play. Rounding out the double-figure scorers were Pinckney and Schilling with 10 apiece. Schilling also contributed with nine rebounds, while Pinckney earned a team-high four assists.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (4-10, 2-9 NE-10)

The Purple Knight women faced tough competition this week, as they went 0-2, falling 71-65 to Southern Connecticut on Tuesday, followed by a 67-44 loss to Pace on Saturday.

On Tuesday, senior tri-captain Michelle Otey (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) helped lead the Purple Knights in the close contest with 18 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Coreen Hennessey (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg (Maine) Academy) and junior Marilyn Ferreira (New London, N.H./Kearsarge Regional) each tied their career-best in points, as Hennessey netted 12 figures while Ferreira earned 10. Senior Alexis Keller (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) also contributed 10 points to the overtime contest.

On Saturday, as the team hosted the Pace University Setters, junior Meghan McCormack (Barrie, Ont./Saint Peter's Secondary School) came off the bench to lead with a team-best 12 points and eight rebounds. Otey added another eight points and five rebounds, while the Purple Knights struggled to gain any ground against the Setters.

MEN'S ICE HOCKEY (2-8-3, 2-5-3 ECAC East, 1-1-1 NE-10)

The men's ice hockey team saw back-to-back overtime games this weekend, as they drew 6-6 with Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10/ECAC East contest on Friday, followed by a 4-4 final against the Pilgrims of New England College on Saturday afternoon. It was the first time since the 2004-05 season that the Purple Knights saw back-to-back overtimes and is the first back-to-back ties in the program since January, 1988.

On Friday, junior Glenn Belmore (Cornwall, Ontario/Wellington Dukes/University of Maine) opened the scoring on a shorthanded goal, assisted by freshman Josh Geary (Wellesley, Mass./Phillips Andover Academy) and senior assistant captain Tim Geverd (Horsham, Pa./N.H. Junior Monarchs/University of Vermont). Sophomores Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Winnipeg Saints) and Brady Earle (Columbia, Md./The Gunnery School) teamed up a minute later to give MacKinnon his fourth goal of the season. Senior captain Dave Vorozilchak (Clarks Summit, Pa./Capital District Selects) was then able to setup Geverd on a power play to give the Purple Knights the 3-0 lead. Before the end of the first period, the Hawks netted a goal, making it 3-1. Saint Anselm then opened the period with another goal, but was answered by Belmore, as he was assisted on a power play by junior Matt Rigtrup (Upper Montclair, N.J./Pickering Panthers) and freshman Alex Davidson (South Burlington, Vt./Saint Paul's School). Rigtrup opened the third period with an unassisted goal to make it 5-3, but the Hawks answered back with three points to take the lead. Rigtrup and Davidson teamed up again, assisting Geverd with the game-tying goal, which was followed by a scoreless overtime. Freshman netminder Mike Dizgun (Kirkland, Quebec/OCN Blizzard) stopped 40 shots on goal against the league-rivals.

After a competitive, intense match the previous night, the Purple Knights took the ice on Saturday and quickly skated to a 3-0 lead early by the start of the second period. Earle scored a goal of his own, with help from Rigtrup and junior Nick Sheehan (Potsdam, N.Y./Cornwall Colts), before he connected with Sheehan late in the first period to assist MacKinnon on a power play. Freshman Michael Jangro (Reading, Mass./Valley Warriors) recorded his first collegiate point a minute into the second frame when he connected with Belmore to assist Geary. The Pilgrims then tallied two goals, but MacKinnon answered back with his second goal of the game, assisted by Jangro and Rigtrup. The Pilgrims netted two more goals to force overtime, while both teams were held scoreless in the extra five minutes. Dizgun recorded another 40 saves in the contest.

WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY (3-12-1, 1-11-1 ECAC East)

The women's ice hockey team also played into overtime on Friday, drawing 2-2 with Nichols College, before traveling to Gorham, Maine., where they were handed a 5-2 loss by the Southern Maine Huskies.

On Friday, after Nichols had taken an early lead in the first period, senior Desiree Biron (Bow, N.H./The Gunnery School/University of Vermont) evened the score on a puck from junior Emily Paquin (Bowie, Md./Washington Pride). The Purple Knights then took the lead when senior co-captain Meghan Sweezey (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield) scored an unassisted goal just 13 seconds into the third period. Before the end of regulation time, the Bison tied the game at 2-all, but no other goals were recorded in the overtime period. Junior netminder Alysia Goldman (Ballston Lake, N.Y./Hebron Academy) set aside 31 shots in the contest.

The following afternoon, the women's team fell to a one-goal deficit midway through the first period, but was able to even the score on a power play when senior Sarah Landis (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) earned her first goal of the season, assisted by sophomore Kiera Nelligan (Melrose, Mass./Arlington Catholic) and junior Kelly Rose Losi (Milton, Mass./Milton). The Purple Knights fell behind by two goals before Biron netted her 11th goal of the season, assisted by senior Crystal Sarno (Stoneham, Mass./Canterbury School). The Huskies wrapped up the scoring with two more goals in the third period, serving the 5-2 loss. Goldman was able to get a hold of 23 of the 28 shots she faced.

SWIMMING AND DIVING

The swimming and diving team traveled to Albany, N.Y. this weekend where they were defeated by the Saint Rose Golden Knights. The men faced a 126-107 loss, while the women fell 128-108.

For the men, freshman Dustin Bell (Sun Valley, Calif./La Canada) helped lead the Purple Knights by finishing first in both the 500-yard and 1,000-yard freestyle events. Senior Jake Stamas (Andover, Mass./Andover) earned points in the diving competitions, placing second on his first dive with 119.65, before taking first in his second dive of the meet, earning 160.70.

For the women, freshman Jade Lubeck (Salt Lake City, Utah/Judge Memorial) placed first in both one-meter dives of the weekend, earning a total score of 354.85. Freshman Katie Cox (South Hadley, Mass./Holyoke Catholic) won the 500-yard freestyle, while senior Elizabeth Tuxbury (New Hartford, Conn./Northwestern Regional) swam to first place in the 100-yard breaststroke event.

UPCOMING EVENTS (January 18th - January 24th):

Day Date Event Time

Wednesday Jan. 20

Swimming and Diving vs. Clarkson 4 p.m.

Women's Basketball vs. New Haven* 5:30 p.m.

Men's Basketball vs. New Haven* 7:30 p.m.

Friday Jan. 22

Skiing - Saint Michael's College Carnival 9 a.m.

Men's Ice Hockey vs. Trinity (Conn.)^ 7 p.m.

Women's Ice Hockey @ Manhattanville^ 7 p.m.

Saturday Jan. 23

Skiing - Saint Michael's College Carnival 9 a.m.

Men's Ice Hockey vs. Wesleyan (Conn.)^ 3 p.m.

Women's Ice Hockey @ Salve Regina^ 7:30 p.m.

Northeast-10 contest *

ECAC East contest ^

##PURPLEKNIGHTS###