SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Junior Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings) netted the game-winning shorthanded goal midway through the third period as the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey downed Assumption University, 4-3, on Saturday on Senior Day to secure a weekend sweep of the Greyhounds, who are tied with Saint Anselm College for first place in the Northeast-10 Conference.

The third-place Purple Knights now have 32 points, just two shy of Assumption and Saint Anselm. In the process, the Purple and Gold clinched a top-three seed in the NE10 Championship, which gives its top two teams byes into the semifinals. The league awards three points for a win, one for a tie, and one for an overtime loss.

Saint Michael's honored six seniors in a postgame ceremony: Sam Johnson (Freeport, Maine/Walpole Express), Paulius Macijauskas (Kėdainiai, Lithuania/Rice Memorial Prep), Jeremy Routh (Hamden, Conn./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs), Owen Rudicus (Duxbury, Mass./Tabor Academy), Matt Schreiner (Falmouth, Mass./Walpole Express) and Nathan Smith (Wildwood, Mo./New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs).

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (11-11-1, 10-7-1 NE10), Assumption (15-12-1, 11-6-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Schreiner, 1 goal, 1 assist, 2 blocks, 11-for-18 faceoffs
• Taylor, 1 goal, 19-for-31 faceoffs
• Smith, 1 assist, 2 blocks
• Johnson, 4 blocks
• Sophomore Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles), 2 goals, 1 assist
• Junior Gabriel Gagnon (Mascouche, Quebec/East Coast Wizards), 1 assist, 5 blocks
• Sophomore David Ciancio (Scituate, R.I./Seahawks Hockey Club), 4 blocks
• Junior Marshall Murphy (Little Canada, Minn./Northern Colorado Eagles), 41 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Shane Sullivan, 2 goals, 1 assist
• Senior Colin Philippon, 1 goal
• First-year Ryan Decker, 2 assists
• Graduate student Drew Benedict, 19 saves

GAME FACTS

• Taylor has both of the Purple Knights' shorthanded goals this season.
• Kantgias has five goals and four assists in his past six games, while Routh has totaled 18 points in the last 10 games on six goals and 12 assists. Schreiner extended his goals streak to three games.
• Saint Michael's was outshot, 44-23, while holding a 37-36 edge in faceoff wins.
• The Purple Knights improved to 10-0 this season when scoring at least four goals.
• Saint Michael's won the season series from Assumption, 3-1, winning the final three meetings.
• Four of the Purple and Gold's six seniors had at least one point on Senior Day, with Macijauskas and Routh adding single assists. Every senior had at least one point during the weekend, totaling four goals and seven assists.

THE ACTION

• Junior Camron Roberts' lead pass sprung Sullivan for a breakaway at 15:49 of the opening period, but the Purple Knights responded only 1:13 later, as Kantgias scored from center ice, sending an aerial shot that eluded Benedict.
• Just 2:06 after that, with 19:08 gone, Schreiner connected on a slapshot from the right circle during a power play to put the hosts in front.
• Sullivan scored again on a power play at 8:04 of the second, tapping in a loose puck near the left post to tie the game after Murphy denied an initial shot from Decker.
• Kantgias broke the deadlock at 15:15, taking sophomore Ryland Dukes' (Nashville, Tenn./Walpole Express) pass before gaining the slot and picking the top corner above Benedict's glove hand.
• Only 2:05 into the third period, Philippon found another equalizer, knocking Sullivan's pass through Murphy's five-hole after the cross had been deflected out front.
• More than three minutes into killing off a major penalty nine minutes into the frame, the Purple Knights dumped the puck deep into the Assumption end, where Benedict made a contested pass to a teammate being pressured by Routh. Routh won the ensuing battle behind the net and dished into the left circle, where an unmarked Taylor fired a slapshot with three defenders bearing down and beat Benedict over his blocker shoulder at 9:31.
• Assumption took a penalty at 17:41 before the Purple Knights committed one of their own at 19:12. Benedict was pulled for an extra skater before the ensuing draw, and Gagnon blocked a shot by Decker before senior Collin Montgomery had two chances during a final 19-second power play but was blocked once by Ciancio and denied on his second bid by Murphy.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Friday at Post University, 7:30 p.m.