SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team dropped an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East match-up to the University of Massachusetts at Boston on Senior Day, 5-1, at Cairns Arena on Saturday. The Purple Knights finish the regular season at 6-17-2 overall and 3-14-1 in the league, while the Beacons finish at 13-9-3 and 9-8-1.

Junior Josh Geary (Wellesley, Mass./Phillips Andover Academy) tallied the lone goal for the Purple Knights, while classmate Eric McGuirk (Rehoboth, Mass./Bridgewater Bandits) stopped 29 shots.

Sophomore Travis Daniel (North Brunswick, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) led a Beacons team that defeated then No. 1 Norwich University on Jan. 14 with one tally and two helpers, while senior Anthony Fitti (Havertown, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers) put one in the back of the net and assisted on another. Senior Andrew Burke (Southampton, Pa./Philadelphia Little Flyers) dished off two assists, while classmate Kevin Bendel Jr. (Denville, N.J./Binghamton Jr. Senators) turned aside 34 shots.

The Beacons tallied two goals in the first six minutes. Junior Tim Richter (Naugatuck, Conn./Hartford Jr. Wolfpack) found the back of the net at 2:39 and then Fitti poked home a rebound at the 5:49 mark of the first period. The Purple Knights cut the lead in half 1:27 later when Geary received a pass from junior Michael Jangro (Reading, Mass./Valley Jr. Warriors) and rifled a laser to the upper corner of the net at 7:16. The Purple Knights outshot the Beacons 13-10 during the first stanza.

Daniel extended UMass Boston's lead to three goals at 9:01of the second period and then the Beacons tacked on another marker at 15:11 to take a 4-0 lead. The Purple Knights sent 14 shots on the Beacon net in the third period but were unable to slip another one past Bendel. UMass Boston found the back of the net at 11:41 of the final frame to finish off the scoring.

Brady Earle (Columbia, Md./The Gunnery), who played in his 102nd game as a Purple Knight, was the lone senior honored prior to the contest.

The Purple Knights return to action on Saturday in a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament semifinal. The site and time have yet to be determined. The Purple Knights will be the fourth seed in the tournament and will play on the road against the top seed.