SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - In a match-up between the top two teams in the Northeast-10 Conference, the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team lost to first-place Assumption University, 7-5, on Friday evening at Cairns Arena. The teams played through four ties during the contest.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (7-3, 5-2 NE10), Assumption (10-1, 7-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior David Ciancio (Scituate, R.I./Seahawks Hockey Club), 3 assists
• Junior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Sophomore Ashton Allain (Brentwood, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 goal, 1 assist, +3
• Sophomore Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Hans Forselius (Guilford, Conn./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior TJ Beaver (Enfield, N.H./Proctor Academy), 2 assists
• Junior Ryland Dukes (Nashville, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 goal
• Junior Jack Macdonald (Baraboo, Wis./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 assist, 16-for-29 faceoffs
• Senior Marshall Murphy (Little Canada, Minn./Northern Colorado Eagles), 43 saves
• Senior Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings), 12-for-22 faceoffs, 5 blocked shots

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Graduate student Shane Sullivan, 3 goals, 3 assists, +3
• Sophomore Ryan Decker, 2 goals, 1 assist, 13-for-27 faceoffs
• Junior John Woernle, 3 assists, +3
• First-year Jonathan Surrette, 3 assists
• First-year Patrick McKiernan, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Ronny Paragallo, 1 goal, 13-for-23 faceoffs
• Senior Thomas McLarnan, 24 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights lost for only the seventh time in 24 contests this calendar year.
• Saint Michael's blocked 24 shots during the contest.
• Seven of the Purple Knights' 10 outings have been decided by two goals or fewer.

THE ACTION

• Decker broke the stalemate at 7:40 of the first period, crashing the net to knock home Sullivan's saved shot. Sullivan scored in similar fashion with 13:13 gone, forcing his way into the crease to tally on a second effort after Decker had a shot denied.
• Murphy kept it 2-0 at 14:36, robbing sophomore Jake Lavoie's one-timer out front with a glove save.
• Allain put the hosts on the board at 17:56, grabbing the rebound of Ciancio's shot from the end boards and finding the left side of the net.
• McFarland drew the Purple Knights even just 1:03 into the second frame, powering into the zone before cutting through the crease and dragging the puck around McLarnan's outstretched pad.
• McKiernan tallied on the power play from above the right circle at 7:33, but Forselius found the equalizer just 17 seconds later, sending a one-timer home after taking McCarthy's pass from the right circle.
• Assumption used the special teams to forge a 5-3 lead by the middle of the third period. Sullivan put home a second effort for a shorthanded marker at 11:36 of the second before Decker tipped home a power-play strike from out front 6:50 into the final stanza.
• Saint Michael's needed only 18 seconds to score its next two goals. At 12:57, McCarthy roofed Forselius' cross-ice pass before Dukes netted a second effort with 13:15 gone.
• Taylor nearly put the hosts in front in the late stages, blocking a shot at the blue line but having a shorthanded breakaway bid denied at 15:30.
• Soon thereafter, Paragallo slipped a shot under a prone Murphy from out front for the game-winner at 16:09. Sullivan added an empty-netter with 1:05 remaining.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Assumption, 4:05 p.m.