SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team lost a 5-1 decision to Saint Anselm College on Friday evening during Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East play in Cairns Arena. The Purple Knights are 6-11-2 overall and 4-8-1 in the league, while the Hawks stand 6-11-2 and 5-7-2.

Sophomore Josh Dickman (Kapaa, Hawaii/Saint Paul's School) scored for Saint Michael's, and senior Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) had 28 saves. During 2:12 of relief, junior Derek McInnis (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) notched the first three saves of his career in his second appearance.

First-year CJ Blaszka (Brookfield, Conn./Walpole Express) led Saint Anselm with a goal and an assist, while senior Kody Grondin (Hampton, N.H./Tabor Academy), junior Mark Meads (Middleton, Pa./Bentley) and sophomores Brendon Kerrigan (Boston, Mass./Buckingham Browne & Nichols) and Nick Leonard (Methuen, Mass./Valley Jr. Warriors) also tallied. Sophomore Peter Sikalis (Acton, Mass./Cushing Academy) turned in two assists, and first-year Shane Joyce (Pembroke, Mass./PAL Islanders) made 17 saves.

Just 1:45 into the game, Donzanti was tested by junior Bryan Sullivan's (Burlington, Mass./Governor's Academy) diving point-blank redirection but made the stop. Twelve minutes in, Sikalis broke in alone during a short-handed opportunity but was stopped by the netminder. The only goal in the first period came at 16:22, when Blaszka's shot from the left circle tipped off of Donzanti's glove and in. The goalie ultimately finished the stanza with 16 stops, including stopping three consecutive bids around the 18:40 mark during a Hawk power play.

After the teams combined for 27 shots in the opening 20 minutes, Saint Michael's held a slight 7-5 edge in shots during the second period, but Saint Anselm extended its advantage at 10:33. Blaszka rushed into the Purple Knight zone while trying to catch up with a long pass, which Donzanti came out to play, and the puck deflected out to the left circle, from which Kerrigan fired a shot into the lower right while Donzanti scrambled back into the goal. With three minutes remaining, Saint Michael's junior Nick Potter (Stoneham, Mass./The Brooks School) was stopped on a point-blank shot at the left post and followed his rebound to the right post, sweeping a backhanded follow-up attempt through the crease. Donzanti kept it 2-0 when he made a sprawling stop with 2:15 left after senior Joe Agliato (Hauppauge, N.Y./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs) sent a shot into traffic from the left circle.

All four third-period goals were scored on special teams plays. With Saint Michael's a man up, a blue line pass skipped over a Purple Knight stick, and Meads pounced on the loose puck, skating in alone on Donanti, deking once and roofing a backhanded shot at 33 seconds. Dickman got his team on the board at 1:59 during the power play, scoring from the right circle after a feed from Potter. Sophomore Danny Divis (Media, Pa./Minnesota Wilderness) also assisted. However, Saint Anselm scored its final two goals one minute apart on power plays. Late in a 5-on-3, Sullivan passed through the crease for Leonard, who scored at the right post at 11:20. Sikalis was turned away by Donzanti less than a minute later, but Grondin grabbed the rebound and scored at the right post at 12:20.

The Purple Knights host New England College tomorrow at 3 p.m.