LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team finished up play at the New Year's College Hockey Classic with a 5-2 loss to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday in the 1980 Rink - Herb Brooks Arena. The Purple Knights are 5-5-2, while the Huskies improved to 2-10 after the non-league meeting between the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East counterparts.

Senior AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario/Ridley College) and sophomore Justin McKenzie (Hawthorne, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) both scored for the Purple and Gold, while junior Michael Comitini (Hudson, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) had 20 stops in relief while yielding only one goal. Senior William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) went 12-for-19 on face-offs, while junior Mike Schreiner (Saint Albans, Vt./Norwich) won nine draws and tacked on an assist. Senior Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec/Tilton School) won eight face-offs, and classmate Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) added eight saves. Saint Michael's outshot Southern Maine, 39-33, and went 37-of-72 at the dot.

Junior Chad O'Brien (Johnstown, Pa./South Shore Kings) scored twice for the Huskies, while seniors Stephen Gallo (Barnstead, N.H./Northern Cyclones), Brad McGovern (Haverhill, Mass./Bridgton Academy) and Lorne Miller (Montreal, Quebec/Nepean Raiders) also tallied. First-year Kyle Shapiro (Ocean, N.J./Walpole Express) made 37 saves.

Saint Michael's took the first three shots of the game, but Southern Maine made good on its first attempt, with O'Brien redirecting home a teammate's shot just 1:45 into the contest. Miller doubled his team's advantage just 3:41 later. With a player in the penalty box for each team later in the period, Donzanti made stops on the only two shots during the two minutes of 4-on-4, but Gallo found a rebound and extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:21. The Purple Knights had two shots stopped by Shapiro during a late power play while two others were blocked by skaters.

Just 48 seconds into the second period, O'Brien again redirected a teammate's shot into the net. Southern Maine pressed for another marker, with eight of the next 11 shots coming off of Husky sticks, but Comitini denied them all. McKenzie got a goal back for Saint Michael's at 7:55, back-handed a shot across the goal line following passes from Schreiner and sophomore Anthony Maiuri (Boxford, Mass./New Hampton School). McKenzie nearly trimmed the deficit even further at 10:45 but hit the right post. At the 17:19 mark, Southern Maine pushed its lead back to four when McGovern scored 1:04 into a power play.

Late in the third period, Pieprzak countered with a man-up tally of his own, scoring the game's final goal at 15:42. Senior Eric Robinson (Williston, Vt./Berkshire School) and sophomore Stephen Inman (Coventry, R.I./Odessa Jackalopes) assisted.

Saint Michael's hosts an upcoming ECAC East weekend on the second sheet of ice in Cairns Arena, opposing a pair of teams that entered today a combined 21-0. On Friday at 7 p.m., the Purple Knights take on Babson College, which is ranked third in both Division III national polls. The University of Massachusetts at Boston, which is fifth in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) rankings, is the Purple and Gold's opponent on Saturday at 4 p.m. Saint Michael's tied both teams during their last visit to Cairns Arena last February.