RUTLAND, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team returned to action for the first time in nearly a month with a 5-1 loss at Castleton University on Friday evening at Spartan Arena.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-8-2), Castleton (3-8-4)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Thomas Flack (Toronto, Ontario/Saint Michael's Buzzers), 1 goal
• Senior Sam D'Antuono (Hingham, Mass./Dexter School), 1 assist, 2 blocks, 12-for-21 faceoffs
• First-year Andy Ide (Barrington, R.I./Cushing Academy), 6-for-8 faceoffs
• Junior Tim Decker (Liverpool, N.Y./Canterbury School), 7 saves in 29:47
• Senior Chris Johnson (Duxbury, Mass./Pomfret School), 4 saves in 28:41 of relief

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Brian Leonard, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior Caleb Fizer, 1 goal
• Sophomore Dom Kuziak, 1 goal
• First-year Kyle Kazeroid, 1 goal
• First-year Connor Rider, 1 goal
• Senior Wyatt Pickrell, 37 saves

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's played its first contest since Dec. 8.
• The Purple Knights trailed only 2-1 until the Spartans posted a three-goal third period.

THE ACTION

• Fizer put Castleton on the board 1:43 into the contest, and a teammate nearly doubled the lead at 6:26 but rung the post.
• The Purple Knights held a 10-6 edge in first-period shots, but Pickrell stopped each. The teams traded two scoreless power plays apiece.
• Rider doubled the Spartan lead 7:43 into the second frame, but Flack countered just 50 seconds later during a power play. D'Antuono and sophomore Noah Muller (Amsterdam, The Netherlands/Düsseldorfer EG) assisted.
• Sophomore Ethan Hendrickson's (Budd Lake, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) tying bid was denied by Pickrell early in the third period, and Kazeroid countered at the other end 10 seconds later, making it 3-1 with 2:06 gone.
• Castleton tacked on two more markers, with Leonard scoring at 6:58 and Kuziak adding a shorthanded empty-netter at 14:50 with the Purple Knights having pulled Johnson for a 6-on-4 advantage.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Tuesday at Post University, 7 p.m.