SHELTON, Conn. - The fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team lost to No. 4 Post University, 3-1, during a Northeast-10 Conference Championship first-round game on Saturday at the Sports Center of Connecticut. The Purple Knights trailed by one goal until the Eagles potted a late empty-netter.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-14), Post (10-14-1)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Jeremy Routh (Hamden, Conn./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs), 1 goal
• First-year Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 assist
• First-year Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 assist
• Sophomore Marshall Murphy (Little Canada, Minn./Northern Colorado Eagles), 21 saves
• Senior Thomas Flack (Toronto, Ontario/Saint Michael's Buzzers), 9-for-15 faceoffs
• Sophomore Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings), 6 faceoff wins
• Senior Brandon Mitchell (North Scituate, R.I./Pomfret School), 4-for-8 faceoffs
• Junior Sam Johnson (Freeport, Maine/Walpole Express), 3 blocks, +1

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Niko Grollman, 2 goals, 13-for-18 faceoffs
• First-year Connor Barter, 1 goal
• Senior Brandon Brown, 27 saves

GAME FACTS

• The teams met in the postseason for the first time, with Post becoming an associate member of the NE10 for men's ice hockey in 2019-20.
• Saint Michael's held a 28-24 lead in shots, but Post claimed a 35-25 advantage in faceoff wins.
• The Purple Knights suffered 10 of their 14 losses this season by two goals or fewer.

THE ACTION

• Murphy stopped first-year Patrick Murphy's shot from the right circle 5:24 into the game during a power play to keep the game scoreless.
• Saint Michael's peppered the Post net during a power play that began at 11:21, but Brown made four saves, and two more shots were blocked by skaters.
• Senior Matt Egan (Hingham, Mass./Kimball Union Academy) rung the post with 14:02 gone.
• Shortly thereafter, Routh scored on an empty net at 14:52 after Kantgias' rush forced Brown to slide from the crease and make a save. McFarland's lead pass set up the sequence.
• Grollman tied the game at 14:09 of the second period, skating out of the corner and having an initial shot saved by Murphy before pushing his rebound in.
• Barter netted the eventual winner at 8:14 of the third period, one-timing home a shot from the slot after first-year Michael Gethings sent a pass from the corner.
• Murphy vacated his net to give Saint Michael's an extra skater with 1:34 remaining, but before the Purple Knights could fire a tying attempt, Grollman took control of the puck at the red line and scored on the empty net with 18:50 gone, sealing the win.