Men's Ice Hockey

January 22, 2010

Purple Knight Men Shutout By Trinity Bantams, 3-0


Boxscore: http://www.collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mstmtrn1.j22

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Saint Michael's men's ice hockey (2-9-3, 1-6-3 ECAC East, 1-1-1 NE-10) and Trinity College (8-4-2, 5-4-2 NESCAC) went head-to-head in a game that resulted in a 3-0 Trinity victory on Friday night at Cairns Arena.

The Purple Knights struggled to come back after two first-period goals were delivered by the Bantams. For Trinity, freshman Stephen Rogers (Watertown, Mass.) recorded his fourth goal of the season, while junior Adam Houli (Howell, N.J.) tallied his eighth season goal in the later half of the frame. The Purple Knights were able to hold the score at 2-0 until the final six minutes of play, when Chris Menard (Burlington, Mass.) netted his fourth goal of the season and second point in the game.

Trinity opened the scoring with a Stephens' goal in the fourth minute of play, as he received a pass from Menard. The Purple Knights had their chances to even the score, but were unable to get a puck past Bantams' netminder, junior Wesley Vesprini (Lexington, Mass.). They held Trinity to their one-goal lead until the final minutes of the period when Houli backhanded a puck past Purple Knights' goalie, freshman Mike Dizgun (Kirkland, Quebec/OCN Blizzard), having been set up by senior Richard Hollstein (Pembroke, Mass.) and freshman Jordan So (Toronto, Ont.).

Entering the second period with a two-goal deficit, the Purple Knights still struggled to find the back of the net. Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Winnipeg Saints) found an opportunity in the 10th minute on a breakaway, but was denied by Vesprini. Saint Michael's was unable to get a point on the board by the end of the period, but withstood approximately 7:30 of penalty time without allowing a goal.

By the third period, it was do-or-die for the Purple Knights, as they needed to net that first goal in order to achieve the momentum that would put them back in the game. They earned three shots on net while on a power play in the fifth minute, but were unable to convert for a goal against the Bantams. With just under six minutes remaining in the game, Bantams' Menard delivered the third and final goal against the Purple Knights on a play from Rogers and sophomore Michael DeMayo (Seaford, N.Y.). At the end of regulation time, Vesprini had recorded 34 saves, while Dizgun set aside 21 shots on goal for the Purple Knights.

Saint Michael's men's ice hockey will host the Wesleyan Cardinals on Saturday for a 3 p.m. puck drop at Cairns Arena.

GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 Total

Trinity 2 0 1 -- 3

Saint Michael's 0 0 0 -- 0

First Period - Scoring: 1. TRN, Rogers (Menard), 4:23; 2. TRN, Houli (Hollstein, So), 16:52.

Second Period - Scoring: No Scoring.

Third Period - Scoring: 3. TRN, Menard (Rogers, DeMayo), 14:01.

Shots on Goal: TRN (14 - 7 - 13 - 34), SMC (6 - 9 - 9 - 24)

Saves: TRN, Vesprini (34 shots, 34 saves); SMC, Dizgun (24 shots, 21 saves).

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