• Academics
• Admission
• Student Life
• Athletics
• About Saint Michael's
• News & Events

Men's Ice Hockey

SAINT MICHAEL'S MEN SKATE TO NORTHEAST-10 TITLE

Purple Knights down Hawks, 5-1, in first title since 2004

Box score: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/boxes/mstastm1.m08

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - After clinching their first ever Northeast-10 regular season title a week ago, the Saint Michael's men's ice hockey team (12-14-1, 6-1-0 NE-10) knocked off the Hawks of Saint Anselm (12-12-3, 5-2-0 NE-10), 5-1, for their first conference title since 2004 on Saturday afternoon at the Cairns Arena.  Tournament MVP junior goaltender Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C./Finlandia Univ.) dazzled the record-setting, over-capacity crowd with 31 saves, including two shutout periods on the night.

For the Purple Knights, sophomore Patrick McGuirk (Hingham, Mass./Avon Acad.) led the offense with a pair of goals, including the game-winner and an assist  in the win.  Senior Dan Anctil (Rochester, N.H./ Valley Jr. Warriors) chipped in a goal of his own to go along with a third-period assist.

The Hawks lone goal was scored by freshman Mike Adams (Bedford, Mass./Winchendon School) while sophomore net-minder Jason Zuck (Clifton, N.J./N.J. Hitmen) pushed aside 28 shots in the evening.

Saint Michael's jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period with their fourth short-handed goal in the last three games on a put-back from the senior Anctil playing in his last game as a Purple Knight.  Anctil's  first goal of the post-season was a rebound off a blast from freshman Matt Rigtrup (Upper Monclair, N.J./Pickering Panthers) to put the Purple Knights on top.  Despite being fired upon 13 times and playing short-handed for nearly seven minutes, the Purple Knights and Bilton posted a shut-out first frame.

After killing three penalties in the first, Saint Michael's could not avoid the fourth that hung over from the opening frame as Saint Anselm knotted the score when freshman Mike Adams (Bedford, Mass./Winchendon School) capped off a two-on-one break from classmate Nick Wheeler (Nashua, N.H./NE Jr. Huskies).  The draw would not last long as Saint Michaels' sophomore  Patrick McGuirk (Hingham, Mass./Avon Acad.) broke away for his fifth goal on the year.

The Purple Knights' problems with penalties persisted through the third but fighting off two short-handed segments, Saint Michael's tacked on to the lead with a three-on-two break that saw McGuirk feeding sophomore Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz./Kent School) at the 9:40 mark.  McGuirk would score his second goal late in the third, providing more insurance for the Purple Knights before sophomore Ryan Nest (Gansevoort, N.Y./NSA Prep) sent home an empty-netter in the final two minutes.  More deft play from the keeper Bilton gave Saint Michael's their second shut- out period of the game and first Northeast-10 Conference title since March 6, 2004 when the Purple Knights skated past the very same Hawks, 5-4.

The Northeast-10 All-Conference team was also named following the contest with juniors Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./NH Jr. Monarchs) and John Burns (Sandwich, Mass./UConn) among the honorees.  Junior Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y./Avon Acad.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference ‘Player of the Year' for his league-leading 20 goals and 37 points.  The Purple Knights' interim head coach Chris Davidson was also named the Northeast-10 ‘Coach of the Year'.

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

Saint Michael's              1          1          3          5

Saint Anselm                 0          1          0          1

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

Saint Michael's              11         13         9          33

Saint Anselm                 13         13         6          32

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

SMC, Bilton                  13         12         6          31

STA, Gallagher              10         12         6          28

1^st Period Scoring: 1. SMC, Anctil (Rigtrup), 3:53;

1^st Period Penalties: SMC - 6 minor(s); STA - 2 minor(s)

2^nd Period Scoring:  1. STA, Adams (Wheeler), 1:13; 2. STM, McGuirk (unassisted), 4:09;

2^nd Period Penalties:  SMC - 3 minor(s); STA - 3 minor(s), 1 major(s)

3^rd Period Scoring:  1. SMC, Higgins (McGuirk), 11:40; 2. SMC, McGuirk (Legare, Anctil), 16:50; 3. SMC, Nest (unassisted), 18:55;

3^rd Period Penalties: SMC - 4 minor(s), 1 major(s); STA - 2 minor(s)

Timeouts: STA, 3^rd 19:44

Notes: Northeast-10 Conference Championship #1 SMC vs. #2 STA, goalie pulled (1:30-1:05)

Attendance: 800 (program record)

Officials: Prim, Smith, Anctil

Scoring

SMC

Anctil                1-1-2

McGuirk            2-1-3

Nest                 1-0-1

Rigtrup              0-1-1

Higgins             1-0-1

Legare              0-1-1

STA

Adams              1-0-1

Wheeler            0-1-1