SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team opened a three-game run against nationally-ranked Division III foes on Friday with a 7-1 loss to No. 3 Babson College during Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East play at Cairns Arena. The Purple Knights had a three-game league unbeaten streak snapped and are now 5-6-2 overall and 4-3-1 in the conference. The Beavers, who won the past two ECAC East Tournaments to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, are 12-1-1 and 7-0. Babson is ranked third by D3hockey.com and fourth in the U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III national poll.

In its first home game since Nov. 25, Saint Michael's received a goal from senior defenseman Mark Higgins (Plainville, Mass./Kent School), while classmate AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario/Ridley College) picked up an assist to extend his points streak to nine contests. Senior Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa./Northfield Mount Hermon) made 17 saves, and junior Michael Comitini (Hudson, Quebec/Cornwall Colts) turned aside eight shots in 25:23 of relief. Saint Michael's was only outshot 32-27.

Babson, which entered the day leading Division II/III in goals-against average (0.85) as one of only two NCAA men's or women's teams with a sub-1.00 GAA, saw six different players score. Sophomore Michael Phillips (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Boston Bandits) had two goals and two assists, and classmate Bill Seligman (Toronto, Ontario/Lakeshore Patriots) turned in one goal and two helpers. Junior Max Franklin (Wrentham, Mass./Nobles) potted one goal with an assist, and senior Joe DiPietro (Pembroke, Mass./Dexter), sophomore Tim Searles (Chesapeake, Va./Portland Pirates) and first-year Charlie Ackerman (Bradenton, Fla./South Shore Kings) all scored. Junior Mike Vollmin (Wilmington, N.C./Northern Mass Cyclones) dished out three assists, and classmate Jamie Murray (Scituate, Mass./South Shore Kings) made 26 stops.

Phillips got Babson on the board just 1:22 into the contest, going 5-hole from atop the right circle to beat a screened Donzanti. Pieprzak worked his way through a Beaver defender a little more than a minute later as he approached the net but sent a close-range shot just over the crossbar. Babson grabbed a 2-0 lead shortly thereafter, as Phillips sent a shot from the left side off the right post, but Ackerman pounced on the rebound at the right side to tally at 4:19. The only power play of the period belonged to the Purple Knights, beginning at 4:53, but Murray stopped all four shots. With a little less than three minutes to go, Saint Michael's junior Mike Schreiner (Saint Albans, Vt./Norwich) was stopped from inside the left circle but followed the rebound and sent a follow-up attempt off of Murray's right pad from close range. The Beavers held a 13-12 edge in shots by intermission.

Babson scored four times in the second period to pull away. Early in a Saint Michael's power play, Phillips took possession and found Seligman, who sent a shot from the left dot home at 4:19 for a short-handed marker. At 8:59, DiPietro's slapper from the point during a 5-on-3 power play made it 4-0. Vollman then played a hand in the final two tallies, first sending Searles in for a breakaway marker at 14:37. At 18:26, Phillips picked the upper right corner from the left side off of Vollman's pass.

Higgins got the Purple Knights on the board 34 seconds into the third period during a power play, going 5-hole from the low slot off of Pieprzak's one-time pass. Senior William Côté (Quebec City, Quebec/Rice Memorial Prep) also assisted. Babson tallied the final goal at 8:02, with Vollman's one-timer during a power play being tipped home at the top of the crease by Franklin.

The Purple Knights host No. 7 University of Massachusetts at Boston tomorrow at 4 p.m.