SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team rallied in the third period to tie a nationally-ranked team for the second time in as many games on Saturday, this time tying No. 3 Babson College, 1-1, in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East tilt at Cairns Arena.

The Purple Knights finish the regular season at 6-16-3 overall and 3-12-3 in the league, moving to 5-3-2 in their most recent 10 games, while the Beavers move to 19-4-2 and 13-3-2. The Purple and Gold also tied No. 11 University of Massachusetts at Boston, 4-4, on Friday. Babson's ranking is according to the D3hockey.com Division III national poll. The tie allowed the Beavers to claim a share of the ECAC East regular-season title with No. 9 Norwich University, which won on Saturday, for their first regular-season league crown since 1990.

Saint Michael's junior Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec/Tilton School) netted the Purple Knights' goal, while sophomore Nick Potter (Stoneham, Mass./Brook School) added the assist. Junior goalie Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) made 41 saves for his second straight 40-save performance.

Junior Andrew Bonazza (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia/Valley Jr. Warriors) scored Babson's goal, while sophomore Max Franklin (Wrentham, Mass./Nobles) and first-year Michael Phillips (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Boston Bandits) provided assists. Sophomore netminder Jamie Murray (Scituate, Mass./South Shore Kings) turned away 17 shots for the draw.

The teams skated to a scoreless tie during the first period as Babson led in shots, 15-8. Saint Michael's junior AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario/Ridley College) had an early opportunity, picking up the puck from an offensive zone face-off win and snapping a shot that Murray swatted away 3:19 into the game. The Purple Knights had another chance later in the period when sophomore Kevin Altidor (Montreal, Quebec/Millbrook School) fed a pass to graduate student Tim McAuliffe (North Reading, Mass./Vermont Academy) on the doorstep, but the puck skipped over his blade before he could get off a shot. Beaver junior Mike Driscoll (Milton, Mass./Boston Advantage) had his point-blank effort swallowed up by Donzanti with 2:34 to go.

Babson broke the tie while on the power play at 10:21 of the second period when Phillips dished a cross-ice pass to Bonazza, who fired a shot past the glove of an outstretched Donzanti. The Beavers' bid for a second goal was robbed when Donzanti flashed his glove on first-year Dan Casey's (Chatham, N.J./Kent School) shot from just below the left face-off circle later in the stanza. Donzanti made the last of his 15 second-period saves with three seconds remaining.

Saint Michael's junior William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) skated in on a breakaway 4:55 into the third period, but Murray denied the chance with a stick save. The Purple Knights evened the score with 2:34 left in the stanza when Wong slapped in the puck off a dump pass from Potter. Senior Ryan Arsenault (Reading, Mass./New Hampton School) looked for the go-ahead chance 32 seconds later, but Murray snagged the puck off a backhanded shot.

Phillips' backhanded shot with 1:21 to play was Babson's best chance in the extra stanza, as the Purple Knights blocked four shots. Neither team landed a shot on goal during overtime.

Three Purple Knight seniors were recognized following the game as part of Senior Day: Arsenault, Kevin Lampron (Boston, Mass./Bridgewater Bandits) and Sam Torney (Shelburne, Vt./Bridgewater Bandits).

With the regular season complete, Saint Michael's heads into the four-team NE-10 Championship as the No. 4 seed, as semifinals take place next Saturday. The Purple Knights will learn their opponent when Saint Anselm College and Stonehill College meet for first place on Tuesday in Foxboro, Mass. Saint Michael's heads to the winner.

by Student Intern Eric Gissendanner