SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Senior Mike Kuhn (Holbrook, Mass./Boston Bulldogs) scored 3:09 into overtime to cap No. 7 University of Massachusetts at Boston's late comeback in a 5-4 victory over the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey squad on Saturday at Cairns Arena.

The Purple Knights fell to 5-7-2 overall and 4-4-1 in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East, nearly taking at least a point from the nationally-ranked Beacons for the second straight meeting. UMass Boston snapped a three-game winless skid in improving to 11-2-1 and 7-1. The Beacons are ranked seventh nationally by D3hockey.com and sit eighth in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III national poll.

In just his second start of the season, junior Michael Comitini (Hudson, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) made a career-high 40 saves for the Purple Knights, who held the visitors to two goals in the first 50-plus minutes after the Beacons entered the game fifth in Division II/III in scoring offense (4.69). Senior AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario/Ridley College) and sophomore Connor Mitchell (New Milford, Conn./Kent School) both posted one goal and one assist, with Pieprzak extending his points streak to 10 games. Senior Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec/Tilton School) and junior Mike Schreiner (Saint Albans, Vt./Norwich) also scored.

First-year Colin Larkin (Waterford, Mich./Michigan Warriors) had a goal and a helper for UMass Boston, while senior Nathan Milam (Westland, Mich./Ferris State) and juniors Matt Lemire (Townsend, Mass./Quinnipiac) and Mike Miller (Wrentham, Mass./Boston Bandits) also scored. Senior John Houston (Pittsburgh, Pa./Janesville Jets) dished off two assists, while junior Billy Faust (Alta Loma, Calif./Vermont) turned aside 30 shots. The visitors hit the post five times during the contest, including three times in the third period.

Larkin broke the stalemate just 49 seconds after the opening whistle, grabbing a loose puck in the corner before skating out front and going to the upper blocker side. The Purple Knights responded with the next three goals. A little more than three minutes after the Beacons' first strike, senior John Teulings (Hamden, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) was stopped by Faust, but junior Nick Potter (Stoneham, Mass./The Brooks School) gathered the rebound and passed to Wong, who went glove side at 4:32. Pieprzak later had a shot turned away before Mitchell pounced on the rebound and scored from high in the right circle at 10:35. Sophomore Stephen Inman (Coventry, R.I./Odessa Jackalopes) also assisted.

Saint Michael's added to its 2-1 lead late in the second period, with Schreiner extending the advantage. Though sophomore Josh Dickman (Kapaa, Hawaii/Saint Paul's School) skated in on a breakaway and was not able to get a shot off, the effort set up a scramble in front where Schreiner had an initial shot stopped before scoring with 1:18 remaining. Through two periods, the hosts held a 26-19 advantage in shots, but UMass Boston finished the game with 26 of the last 34 shots, including using a 21-7 margin during the third period.

Miller's slap shot found the upper left corner of the net 3:33 into the third stanza, and Milam tipped home senior Dan Cornell's (Abington, Mass./Northeastern) blast from the blue line at 10:16 to knot the contest. Pieprzak gave the Purple Knights another lead with 1:47 remaining in regulation, snapping the puck from the left circle past Faust's blocker during a 1-on-1 rush. Mitchell and senior William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) assisted. Down one goal and time winding down, UMass Boston pulled the goalie and utilized the 6-on-5 advantage in skaters to knot the contest once more. In the final minute, Houston one-timed a shot toward the goal, where Lemire stood out front to tip home his first college goal past Comitini's glove side with 42 seconds left.

The goalies traded big saves in overtime, with Comitini denying junior Peter MacIntyre (Norfolk, Mass./Boston Bandits) directly off a face-off 51 seconds in before Pieprzak challenged Faust at 1:10. Following a scramble in front soon thereafter, Kuhn poked home his winner at 3:09, with Houston and Larkin assisting.

The Purple Knights host No. 1 Norwich University on Friday at 7 p.m. to complete the home-and-home season series with their in-state rival. Saint Michael's also finishes a three-game run against nationally-ranked Division III opponents with the contest.