MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team skated to a 4-4 tie against Saint Anselm College in a game that counted toward both the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East and Northeast-10 Conference standings at Sullivan Arena on Saturday. The Purple Knights move to 3-2-1 overall, 2-2-1 in ECAC East and 1-0-1 in the NE-10, while the Hawks now stand at 2-3-1, 2-3-1 and 0-0-1. Saint Michael's is unbeaten in three of the last four meetings with Saint Anselm.

Senior AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario/Ridley College) recorded a hat trick for the second time in his career, the other coming on Nov, 11, 2011. Junior Kevin Altidor (Montreal, Quebec/Millbrook School) added a goal and an assist. Seniors William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) and Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec/Tilton School) both had an assist. Classmate Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) made a season-high 40 saves.

Sophomore CJ Blaszka (Brookfield, Conn./Walpole Express) netted two goals with senior Johnny Daniels (Andover, Mass./Valley Junior Warriors) and junior Bryan Sullivan (Burlington, Mass./The Governor's Academy) also scoring. Senior Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass./Boston Bulldogs) had two assists with classmates Joey Agliato (Hauppage, N.Y./New Hampshire Junior Monarchs) and Matt Buckley (Canton, Mass./Bridgton Academy) and juniors Tyler Estee (Bow, N.H./Tilton School) and Mark Meads (Middleton, Mass./Bentley) all having one assist. First-year Shane Joyce (Pembroke, Mass./PAL Islanders) had 31 stops.

On just their second shot on net of the game, the Purple Knights took the game's first lead when Altidor buried his second goal of the season at 5:53 of the first period. After testing Joyce twice more and once on the power play, Saint Michael's extended its lead to two goals after Pieprzak scored with the man advantage at 10:10. With 11 shots already stopped by Donzanti, the hosts landed on the scoreboard with a short-handed tally by Daniels with only eight seconds remaining in the opening period.

Saint Anselm made use of its first power-play opportunity of the second period and tied the game at 2-2, when Sullivan notched his second goal of the season at 2:29. The lead was short-lived, however, as Pieprzak registered a goal just 59 seconds later. Both teams were then unsuccessful on their next power-play chance, but Blaszka knotted up the score again with a marker at 10:01. The Hawks kept up their offensive charge and challenged Donzanti with a string of five shots that were all stopped. Saint Anselm logged 19 shots in the second period compared to eight by Saint Michael's.

The third period mirrored that of the second, as the score remained a stalemate, despite there being a combined two goals on 23 shots. The hosts took their first lead of the game when Blaszka found the back of the net for the second time at 13:07. Four more saves by Donzanti kept the score at a one-goal margin. With 1:38 remaining in the period, Donzanti was pulled for the extra attacker. The sixth skater paid off as Pieprzak tallied his third goal of the game just 16 seconds after Donzanti hit the bench. A blocked shot by sophomore Shawn Morrow (East Greenbush, N.Y./Kent School) with 15 seconds left in the stanza ensured an overtime period with the score tied at 4-4.

After being outshot 33-27 in regulation, the Purple Knights tested Joyce with four shots in the opening 35 seconds of overtime, while Donzanti did not see a shot until 2:55. Joyce then faced a trio of shots after an offensive zone face-off win by junior Nick Potter (Stoneham, Mass./The Brooks School) at 4:49. The Purple and Gold's last scoring attempt came when sophomore Danny Divis' (Media, Pa./Minnesota Wildnerness) shot was blocked by Jenkins.

The Purple Knights return home for a non-conference contest against defending New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship finalist, Amherst College at 4 p.m. on Tuesday. The Lord Jeffs are receiving votes in both the USCHO.com and the d3hockey.com polls.