Sheehan's hat trick helps Purple Knights remain undefeated in NE-10 play 

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Contact: Tony Bonvechio - Phone: 802.654.2929

Box Score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/mice/2010-11/files/msnhstm.htm.

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Saint Michael's College men's hockey team (8-9-1, 4-0-0 NE-10) scored a season-high nine goals en rout to clinching the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title with a 9-2 win over Southern New Hampshire at Cairns Arena on Tuesday. The seven-goal trouncing marks the Purple Knights' largest margin of victory since downing Franklin Pierce 8-1 on Dec. 12, 2009.

For Saint Michael's, senior Nick Sheehan (Potsdam, N.Y./Cornwall Colts) worked a hat trick to up his total to five goals in the last two games. Six other Saint Michael's skaters had multiple-point games, namely senior Tully LaBelle-Hamer (Fairbanks, Alaska/Alaska Avalanche) and junior Brady Earle (Columbia, Md./The Gunnery School), who each had a goal and two assists. Sophomore Morgan Bell (Revelstoke, B.C./Saint Alberts Saints) had a career-high three assists, seniors Fran Briand (South Burlington, Vt./Loomis Chaffee School) and Matt Rigtrup (Montclair, N.J./Pickering Panthers) both had two helpers, and sophomores Colby MacDonald (Byfield, Mass./The Gunnery School) and Rich Rodeschini (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./Canterbury School) both scored their first collegiate goal.

MacDonald opened the scoring early with his first career lamp lighter just under two minutes into the first period, and Sheehan netted his first of the night at the halfway mark to put Saint Michael's up 2-0. Southern New Hampshire senior Adam Ziegler (Medford, Mass./Saint Anselm College) put the Penmen on the board two minutes later with a 2-on-1 breakaway wrist shot that smacked the crossbar and ricocheted over the line.

Sheehan and Earle would exchange nearly identical goals a few minutes later to give the Purple Knights a healthy 4-1 lead. Sheehan won a faceoff in the Penmen zone and kicked the puck back to Bell, who unleashed a wild slapshot that Sheehan deflected out of the air and into the net. Less than two minutes later on a power play, Earle scored an eerily similar redirection goal on another Bell slapshot.

In the fourth minute of the second period, Rodeschini worked a one-handed wraparound shot on the left side of the net that squeaked through for the second-year's first career goal. In the spirit of firsts, LaBelle-Hamer followed at the seventh minute with a slapshot from just inside the blue line, catching the Southern New Hampshire defense off guard and hitting the back of the net untouched for the senior's first goal of the season.

Later in the period, freshman Sam Torney (Shelburne, Vt./Bridgewater Bandits/Berkshire School) picked up his second goal in three games on a mop-up goal after a crafty 2-on-1 breakaway passing exchange by Briand and sophomore Alex Davidson (South Burlington, Vt./St. Paul's School). The Penmen retaliated with a goal by junior Doug Boulanger (Beauport, Quebec/Quebec Assurexperts), but 7-2 is as close as they would get.

Sophomore Justin Castagna (Los Altimos, Calif./Los Angeles Kings) tallied the eighth Purple Knight goal on a one-timer off a pass from senior Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz./Kent School), who jumped on LaBelle-Hamer's rebound. For good measure, Sheehan picked up his third goal on a spinning turnaround shot that beat freshman goalie Tyler Holske (Attleboro, Mass./South Shore Kings) top shelf.

Saint Michael's sophomore goalie Mike Dizgun (Kirkland, Quebec/OCN Blizzard) broke a three-game winless streak in net and made 20 saves. For the Penmen, senior Ryan Gleason (Westford, Mass./Valley Junior Warriors) stopped 18 shots in 29 minutes before being relieved by Holske, who made 29 saves.

The Purple Knights host Williams and Middlebury this weekend in Eastern College Athletic Conference East action, beginning with the Ephs on Friday at 7 p.m.

GAME SUMMARY

                                    1          2          3          Total
Southern N.H.              1          1          0          2
Saint Michael's            4          3          2          9

SCORING

First Period: 1. STM, C. MacDonald (Evarts, Briand), 1:49. 2. STM, Sheehan (Bell, Rigtrup), 10:20. 3. SNH, Ziegler (Pascucci, Adams), 12:13. 4. STM, Sheehan (Bell), 16:18. 5. Earle (Bell, MacKinnon), 17:54.
Second Period: 6. STM, Rodeschini (Rigtrup, Jangro), 4:14. 7. STM, LaBelle-Hamer (Sheehan, Earle), 7:22. 8. STM, Torney (Davidson, Briand), 15:14. 9. SNH, Boulanger (Maybury), 16:56.
Third Period: 10. STM, Castagna (Higgins, LaBelle-Hamer), 6:49. 11. STM, Sheehan (Earle, LaBelle-Hamer), 13:50.

Shots on Goal: SNH (7 -6 - 9 - 22), STM (17 - 19 – 20 - 56)                                                                                             

Saves: SNH, Gleason (18 saves), 29:21. SNH, Holske (29 saves), 30:39; STM, Dizgun (20 saves), 60:00.

-PURPLEKNIGHTS-