SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team clinched the fourth and final Northeast-10 Conference Championship spot by knocking off Franklin Pierce University, 4-1, on Tuesday evening in Cairns Arena. The Purple Knights won for the fourth time in six games while moving to 5-15-1 overall and 2-3 in the league, while the Ravens are 4-14-2 and 2-6-1 and were eliminated from postseason contention.

First-year defender Danny Divis (Media, Pa./The Gunnery) turned in a goal and two assists, and fellow first-year blue liner Stephen Inman (Coventry, R.I./Odessa Jackalopes) had a tally and a helper. Sophomore Kevin Altidor (Montreal, Quebec/Millbrook School) and first-year Josh Dickman (Kapaa, Hawaii/Saint Paul's School) tacked on one goal apiece, and junior Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec/Tilton School) had two assists. Classmate Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) made 23 saves.

Senior Dave O'Brien (Groton, Mass./Northern Cyclones) had 31 stops for the Ravens, and sophomore Brendan Glynn (Quincy, Mass./Bridgton Academy) tallied.

During a first period in which they held a 9-4 edge in shots, the Purple Knights also scored the lone goal, their first of two on the power play. With more than seven minutes gone, Inman took a slap shot from the blue line that O'Brien turned away, with the rebound trickling back out front. Junior William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) pounced on the loose puck on the doorstep and, instead of shooting, slipped a pass to the right post and a crashing Dickman, who knocked home a one-timer for the go-ahead tally at 13:51.

Saint Michael's tacked on a pair of goals to extend its lead during the final 5:54 of the second period. After circling the net, Wong sent a pass from inside the left circle to Altidor, who drove a one-timer from the slot on net, which O'Brien slowed down with his glove hand, but the puck slowly flipped in the air and in at 14:06 as the goalie tried to locate the puck. Divis also assisted.

Shortly thereafter, graduate student Tim McAuliffe (North Reading, Mass./Vermont Academy) was denied on a breakaway before first-year Anthony Maiuri (Boxford, Mass./New Hampton School) was stopped on the follow-up attempt, but the puck remained loose and trickled toward a vacated net. Raven first-year Taylor Fletcher (Leominster, Mass./Boston Jr. Rangers) then cleared the puck off the line. However, Inman made it 3-0 at 17:43 on a close-range slap shot during a 5-on-3 advantage. Divis and Wong picked up helpers.

Just 4:44 into the third period, Divis picked the upper right corner to extend his team's lead to 4-0. Sophomore Nick Potter (Stoneham, Mass./Brooks School) and first-year Justin McKenzie (Hawthorne, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) lent assists. More than halfway through the frame, the Ravens entered the Purple Knight zone on an odd-man rush and, after Donzanti kicked away an initial shot with his right leg pad, Glynn flipped the rebound over the sprawling goalie at 12:23 to break the shutout. Donzanti made six saves down the stretch, including four after a late Saint Michael's penalty, to avert further damage.

The Purple Knights hit the road for their final Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East road games of the season this weekend, beginning on Friday with a 7 p.m. contest at Skidmore College.