Box Score HOOKSETT, N.H. - Junior Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles) scored a power-play goal 36 seconds into overtime to deliver the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team a 5-4 Northeast-10 Conference win against Southern New Hampshire University on Friday evening in Ice Den Arena. The victory was the 100th of head coach Damian DiGiulian's Saint Michael's career.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (3-0, 1-0 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (1-1, 0-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles), 2 goals
• Junior Ryland Dukes (Nashville, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Hans Forselius (Guilford, Conn./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 goal (1st career), 1 assist
• Senior Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings), 2 assists, 18-for-31 faceoffs
• Sophomore Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 2 assists
• Junior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 goal
• Junior David Ciancio (Scituate, R.I./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 assist, 3 blocked shots
• Senior Marshall Murphy (Little Canada, Minn./Northern Colorado Eagles), 32 saves
• Sophomore Jake Lincourt (Smithfield, R.I./Walpole Express), 9-for-14 faceoffs
• First-year Ben Baxter (Hyannis, Mass./Seahawks Hockey Club), 7-for-15 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Ryan Pomposelli, 2 goals, 1 assist
• Senior Matthew Amante, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Sophomore Brendan Lynch, 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Collin Berke, 30 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple and Gold extended its best start since 2010-11. Saint Michael's seeks just the second 4-0 start in program history on Saturday, looking to match the 1998-99 squad.
• Saint Michael's held a 43-38 lead in faceoff wins, while the hosts claimed a 36-35 edge in shots.
• The visitors finished 3-for-6 on power plays while holding Southern New Hampshire scoreless on three bids.
• Murphy notched his 21st career win, tying Tyler Bilton '09 for eighth in program history.
• The Purple Knights improved to 8-4 in their last 12 games with the Penmen.
• Saint Michael's is 13-4 during the 2023 calendar year.
• Head coach Damian DiGiulian became the 15th coach in Saint Michael's Athletics history with 100 career wins, and the 13th to reach the plateau with one program. He joins Lou DiMasi as the only men's ice hockey head coaches to record triple digits, after DiMasi amassed 264 wins between 1982-83 and 2006-07.

THE ACTION

• The teams combined for three goals in a 3:04 span early in the contest. McFarland scored on a power play from the left circle with 2:43 gone, but Lynch found the equalizer at 3:59 on an open net when the puck took a weird hop around the boards and redirected off of Murphy, who was behind the goal.
• Saint Michael's retook the lead by 5:47, as Dukes scored another power-play strike by knocking home Taylor's slap pass from the left boards.
• The Purple and Gold benefited from a fortuitous bounce of its own during the second period. After a Penmen defender passed through the slot directly to Forselius, the rookie was denied on the mini breakaway by Berke, but the puck rebounded off of a Southern New Hampshire player into the net at 7:20.
• The hosts drew even with two goals in 46 seconds late in the frame, as Amante stuffed a one-timer through Murphy's pads from the doorstep (15:48) and Pomposelli tipped in Lynch's pass from the left circle (16:34).
• Kantgias put Saint Michael's ahead at 9:42 of the third period, streaking from end to end before finishing from the right circle after sophomore Nick Wracker (Columbia, S.C./Northeast Generals) found him racing through neutral ice.
• However, Pomposelli forced the third tie only 42 seconds after that, scoring from the blue line.
• The Purple Knights went on a power play late in regulation, as McCarthy had a point-blank look denied at 17:12 before Berke stopped three straight shots one minute later.
• Saint Michael's started overtime on a 4-on-3 power play, and Kantgias cashed in on the only shot by either team, one-timing Ciancio's pass into the left circle into the top corner for the winner at 4:24.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday at Southern New Hampshire, 2:50 p.m.