SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team lost in a non-conference game against Amherst College, 5-1, on Tuesday at Cairns Arena. With the loss, the Purple Knights fall to 2-7 overall. Amherst improves to 1-0-1 with the win.

For the Purple Knights, senior Justin McKenzie (Hawthorne, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) scored once with classmate Caleb Lothian (Franklin, Vt./Rice Memorial Prep) and sophomore Nic Hermary (Coquitlam, British Columbia/Melfort Mustangs) adding assists. Senior Shawn Morrow (East Greenbush, N.Y./Kent School) went 14-for-19 at the faceoff dot while sophomore Sam D'Antuono (Hingham, Mass./Dexter School) went 16-for-26. Sophomore Chris Johnson (Duxbury, Mass./Pomfret School) made 27 saves for the hosts.

Junior Thomas Lindstrom and first-year Patrick Daly each scored twice for Amherst. Sophomore Jack Fitzgerald scored once first-year Giancarlo Ventre made 23 saves in the contest.

At the 6:07 mark of the first period, Lindstrom redirected a hard shot from the point by sophomore Phil Johannson, but Johnson turned the tipped shot away with a pad save. Johnson called on his glove to make a stop on quick shot by Daly following a Lindstrom faceoff win at 10:57, as he snagged the puck before Daly's shot could hit the top left corner. In the middle of a Purple Knight power play that began at the 9:39 mark, D'Antuono sent a pass from the left wing to Hermary in the high slot that Ventre was slow to react to, but Hermary's one-timer was blocked by an Amherst defender before it could find the open net. Johnson made five power-play saves before Daly beat him on a rebound at the 14:22 mark. The Purple Knights responded when they scored on the sixth shot of a great shift by Hermary, McKenzie and sophomore Colin Biebel (Roxborough Park, Colo./Walpole Express) late in the period. Hermary sent a pass across the crease to McKenzie, who redirected the puck up and under the post, tying the score for the Purple Knights with 1:28 remaining.

Amherst broke the tie just 49 seconds into the second period as Lindstrom beat Johnson after controlling a rebound and taking the puck around the back of the net where he found room to shoot. On a Purple Knight power play late in the period, Morrow fired a hard shot from the point through a crowd of players in front, but it was turned away with the pad save by a screened Ventre. The teams entered the third period with Amherst leading 2-1.

Amherst doubled its lead at the 6:58 mark of the third period when Fitzgerald tallied off an assist from senior Austin Ho. Fifty-five seconds later, Lindstrom notched his second goal of the game. At the 11:20 mark, Johnson denied Daly with another glove save following a shot from the high slot, keeping the score at 4-1. Senior Danny Divis (Media, Pa./Minnesota Wilderness), junior Eric Salzillo (Johnston, R.I./Boston Bandits) and Morrow were all stopped on quality opportunities during a Purple Knight power play that started with 6:12 remaining. Amherst scored shorthanded on the same power play, as Daly outraced a Purple Knight to a loose puck for a breakaway, deking to the backhand for the finish, putting Amherst up 5-1 with 4:23 remaining. Saint Michael's was unable to cut into the deficit before the clock hit zero.

Up next for the Purple Knights is a home contest against New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) opponent Babson College on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. The Beavers are 10th in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division III national poll.