Men's Ice Hockey

NO. 1 PURPLE KNIGHTS CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND WITH 5-4 OVERTIME TRIUMPH

Saint Michael's set for Championship re-match with Saint Anselm Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0708/boxes/mstmstn1.m05

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - In front of a  packed Cairns Arena and raucous "Krazy Knights" student section, the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team (11-14-1, 51-0 NE-10) scored three unanswered goals to close out Stonehill College (12-11-2, 3-3-0 NE-10) in overtime, 5-4, in the Northeast-10 Conference semi-finals on Wednesday evening.  Junior Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y.) became the first Purple Knight since Justin Quenneville '04 in 2002-03 to post a 20-goal season with two short-handed goals on the night, including the overtime game-winner 31 seconds into extra time.

For the Purple Knights, senior Erik Caron (Kanata, Ont.) got things started with a goal less than a minute into the contest before dishing out the game-tying and game-winning assists.  Junior Chris Healey (Salem, N.H.) was the recipient of Caron's first assist to knot the game at 4-4, while senior Matt Hall (Scituate, Mass.) rounding out the scoring for Saint Michael's.  Junior goaltender Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C.) tallied 26 saves on the night, improving his record to 10-12-1 on the season.

For the Skyhawks, four separate players scored and senior captain Brendan O'Brien (Braintree, Mass.) tallied two helpers on the night.  Pete Roundy (Simsbury, Conn.) scored a third period goal to put Stonehill up 4-2, but 0-for-6 on the power led to the demise of the Skyhawks.  Freshman goaltender Mike Manna (Framingham, Mass.) stopped 28 shots in his final outing of his first year, making his season mark 8-7-1.

Wasting no time at all in the first was the captain Caron, scoring less than a minute into the action on the Purple Knights' first shot of the game from Mero and John Burns (Sandwich, Mass.).  Midway through the period, Stonehill tied things up on a Anthony Zanetti (Ludlow, Mass.) wrist-shot from James Florentino (West Roxbury, Mass.) and John Durkin (Scituate, Mass.).  With 5:46 to play in the period, the Skyhawks knocked on the Purple Knights doorstep with a one-on-none break, but Bilton's quick butterfly stoned Stonehill's best opportunity in the frame.  Saint Michael's dodged another bullet when back-to-back penalties left the Purple Knights at a five-on-there disadvantage.

Putting the Purple Knights back on top 7:31 into the middle frame was Hall with a wrist shot from the right side off an Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz.) shot.  Stonehill's Frank Cavalieri (Winthrop, Mass.) knotted the score for a second time after Saint Michael's failed to clear the zone with 7:51 to play in the second.  Minutes later, Saint Michael's fell behind, 3-2, for the second time in as many games to the Skyhawks, committing another costly turnover in their own zone leading to an unassisted and uncontested Davis score.

In the third, sophomore Pete Roundy (Simsbury, Conn.) tacked on to the Skyhawk-lead from yet another Purple Knights turnover in their own zone.  Stonehill would return the favor midway through the period with a power-play turnover, leading to Mero's second short-handed goal on the year, both of which have come against the Skyhawks.  Scoring their second unanswered goal of the period, Saint Michael's knotted the score on Healey's 11th goal of the year seconds into a Purple Knights' power play with 2:21 remaining in the contest.

Although Saint Michael's entered the overtime period with 33 seconds to kill on a penalty, the Purple Knights and Mero made quick work with a short-handed breakaway goal to catapult Saint Michael's into the Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Saturday, March 8 at 3 p.m.

Saint Michael's will face Saint Anselm on Saturday afternoon in a finals rematch of 2004 when the Purple Knights knocked off the Hawks, 5-4, for their third straight conference title.  Earlier this year, Saint Michael's came back from a 3-0 deficit on February 2 to score seven third-period goals, eventually earning the No. 1 seed with the win.

Score by period:          1st         2nd        3rd        OT        Total:

Saint Michael's              1          1          2          1          5

Stonehill                       1          2          1          0          4

Shots by period:          1st         2nd        3rd        OT        Total:

Saint Michael's              7          15         10         1          33

Stonehill                       12         9          9          0          30

Saves by period:          1st         2nd        3rd        OT        Total:

SMC, Bilton                  11         7          8          0          26

STO, Manna                  6          14         8          0          28

1st Period Scoring: 1. SMC, Caron (Mero, Burns), 0:37; 2. STO, Zanetti (Florentino, Durkin); 9:29

1st Period Penalties: SMC - 2 minor(s); STO - 0 minor(s)

2nd Period Scoring:  1. SMC, Hall (Higgins, Healey), 7:31; 2. STO, Cavalieri (O'Brien), 12:09; 3. STO, Davis (unassisted), 13:59;

2nd Period Penalties:  SMC - 1 minor(s); STO - 1 minor(s)

3rd Period Scoring:  1. STO, Roundy (O'Brien), 6:23; 2. SMC, Mero (unassisted), 10:33; 3. SMC, Healey (Caron, Burns), 17:39

3rd Period Penalties: SMC - 2 minor(s); STO - 3 minor(s)

Overtime Scoring: 1. SMC, Mero (Caron), 0:31.

Overtime Penalties: SMC - 0 minor(s); STO - 0 minor(s)

Timeouts: SMC, 3rd, 16:11

Notes: Northeast-10 Semi-Final #1 SMC vs. #4 STO

Attendance: 500

Officials: O'Brien, Prim, Crowley

Scoring

SMC

Healey              1-1-2

Mero                 2-1-3

Caron                1-2-3

Hall                   1-0-1

Burns                0-2-2

Higgins             0-1-1

STO

Zanetti              1-0-1

Cavalieri            1-0-1

Davis                1-0-1

Roundy             1-0-1

Florentino          0-1-1

Durkin               0-1-1

O'Brien             0-2-2