Men's Ice Hockey

March 7, 2008

Men's Hockey To Skate For NE-10 Championship Versus Saint Anselm On Saturday


SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team will look to cap off a storybook season on Saturday at 3 p.m., as the top-seeded Purple Knights host second-seeded Saint Anselm College for the Northeast-10 Conference Championship at Cairns Arena.

Tickets for Saturday's championship contest are $5 for adults, and $3 for children age 12 and under, seniors age 65 and over, and students with valid identification. The doors will open at 2 p.m.

Saint Michael's (11-14-1 overall, 4-1-0 NE-10), led by interim head coach Chris Davidson, is seeking the program's first NE-10 Tournament title since 2004, when Saint Michael's upset Saint Anselm, 5-4. Saint Anselm (12-11-3, 4-1-0 NE-10), meanwhile, last won the NE-10 title in 2006.

The Purple Knights earned the top seed in the NE-10 playoffs over Saint Anselm by virtue of the Purple Knights' 7-3 victory versus the Hawks on Feb. 2. In that contest, Saint Michael's erased a 3-0 deficit through two periods of play with seven unanswered goals in the final period.

Saint Michael's advanced to the title game in dramatic fashion, as the Purple Knights rallied past fourth-seeded Stonehill College in overtime, 5-4, on Wednesday. The Purple Knights rallied from a two-goal deficit with less than 10 minutes remaining to force overtime, and junior Ryan Mero (Peekskill, N.Y./Avon Old Farms) netted his second shorthanded goal of the contest 31 seconds into the extra session to lift the hosts to the win.

Mero leads the NE-10 with 20 goals and three shorthanded tallies, and is tied for the conference lead with 37 points and three game-winning scores. Classmate Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./NH Jr. Monarchs) also has three game-winning goals, and leads the NE-10 with nine power play goals. Junior John Burns (Sandwich, Mass./Univ. of Connecticut) has a conference-best 24 assists, and leads all NE-10 defensemen with 29 points, while junior Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C./Finlandia University) has a 3.97 goals against average and an .895 save percentage in nearly 1,400 minutes of action.

Saint Anselm, winners of seven of its last eight contests, advanced to Saturday's title game with an 8-4 victory versus third-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Wednesday. The Hawks scored four times in the first period to take the lead, and sealed the win with four more goals in the final period.

The Hawks feature a balnced offense. Senior Matt Grazioso (Quincy, Mass.) leads the team with 20 points, and is tied with classmate Colin Fitzpatrick (Westwood, Mass.) with a team-best 11 goals. Fitzpatrick's 19 points are second on the squad, while fellow senior Pat Forshner (Natick, Mass.) is right behind with 10 goals and 18 points. In net, junior Pat Gallagher (Framingham, Mass.) and sophomore Jason Zuck (Clifton, N.J.) have split the duties, with Gallagher sporting a 2.36 GAA, .923 save percentage, and a .727 winning percentage, all totals tops in the NE-10.

Saturday's game marks the final collegiate contest for four Saint Michael's seniors: Dan Anctil (Rochester, N.H./Valley Jr. Warriors), Erik Caron (Kanata, Ontario/Smith Falls Bears), Andrick Deppmeyer (Claremont, N.H./Bay State Breakers), and Matt Hall (Scituate, Mass./Bridgton Academy).

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