Men's Ice Hockey

January 23, 2010

Purple Knights Rise Above Wesleyan University, 3-2


Box Score: http://collegehockeystats.net/0910/boxes/mstmwes1.j23

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Saint Michael's men's ice hockey (3-9-3, 2-6-3 ECAC East, 1-1-1 NE-10) defeated the Wesleyan University Cardinals (5-9-0, 2-8-0 ECAC East) on Friday by a final score of 3-2.

For the Purple Knights, senior Tim Geverd (Horsham, Pa./N.H. Junior Monarchs/University of Vermont) put Saint Michaels on the board early in the second period, while classmate Jean-Marie Legare (Saint Augustine, Quebec/Restigouche Tigers) capitalized on a breakaway minutes later. Freshman Michael Jangro (Reading, Mass./Valley Warriors) followed up at the end of the second frame and earned what became the winning goal.

For the Cardinals, freshman John Guay (North Scituate, R.I./Salisbury School) took the shutout away from Saint Michael's near the end of the second period, tallying his eighth goal of the season. Tom Salah (Gloucester, Mass./Northwood School) made it a one goal game in the later half of the third period, but the Cardinals were unable to follow up with the game-tying goal.

Neither team was able to take the lead before the end of the first period, as the Purple Knights recorded three shots on goal compared to the Cardinal's eight. Head coach Chris Davidson was ejected from the game with 4:16 left on the clock in the first period by referee Mike O'Hearn.

The call must have fired up the Purple Knights, as they took the ice in the second period and skated to a two-goal lead in the first half. Junior Matt Rigtrup (Upper Montclair, N.J./Pickering Panthers), receiving a puck from sophomore Reave MacKinnon (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Winnipeg Saints), passed across the blue line to Geverd who was able to beat the reactions of the Cardinal defenders with a slap-shot for the first goal. Minutes later, Legare earned himself a breakaway in the opponent's zone, which he played out to perfection as he snuck the puck around the goalie's right-hand side. Earning assists on the goal were senior Bryan Brunton (Colorado Springs, Colo./Brooks Bandits) and junior Tully LaBelle-Hamer (Fairbanks, Alaska/Alaska Avalanche).

The Cardinals brought the game to a one-goal difference in the later half of the period, as Guay found the back of the net, assisted by Salah and sophomore Geoff Mucha (West Chester, Pa./Milton Academy). Saint Michael's answered back and ended the second period with the two-goal advantage when freshman Michael Jangro (Reading, Mass./Valley Warriors) netted a rebounded puck from the previous shots of classmate Alex Davidson (South Burlington, Vt./Saint Paul's School) and senior assistant-captain Kyle Marquis (Richmond, Vt./New England Huskies).

The two teams battled throughout the third period, but Cardinals' Salah notched a goal with over seven minutes remaining in regulation time. Aside from being outshot 5-12 by the Cardinals, the Purple Knights held on to their lead to earn the well-fought victory over Wesleyan. In net for the Cardinals, freshman Glenn Stowell (Hadley, Mass./Phillips Academy) stopped 22 shots on goal, while freshman Mike Dizgun (Kirkland, Quebec/OCN Blizzard) set aside 31 shots for the Purple Knights.

Saint Michael's men's ice hockey will travel Babson College on Saturday for a 7 p.m. ECAC East contest against the Beavers at the Babson Skating Center.

GAME SUMMARY 1 2 3 Total

Wesleyan 0 1 1 -- 2

Saint Michael's 0 3 0 -- 3

First Period - Scoring: No scoring.

Second Period - Scoring: 1. STM, Geverd (Rigtrup, MacKinnon), 2:23; 2. STM, Legare (Brunton, LaBelle-Hamer), 6:26; 1. WES, Guay (Salah, Mucha), 13:29; 3. STM, Jangro (Davidson, Marquis) 15:42.

Third Period - Scoring: 2. WES, Salah, 12:25.

Shots on Goal: TRN (8 - 13 - 12 - 33), SMC (3 - 17 - 5 - 25)

Saves: WES, Stowell (25 shots, 22 saves); SMC, Dizgun (33 shots, 31 saves).

##PURPLEKNIGHTS###