SHELTON, Conn. – Senior Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings), junior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles) and sophomore Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School) all recorded three points as the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team defeated Post University, 6-1, on Sunday in the Sports Center of Connecticut. With the win, the Purple Knights passed Southern New Hampshire University to clinch the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming NE10 Championship.
 
The Purple Knights, who have won six of their last seven games, will host a semifinal game next Saturday at 4 p.m. They finished NE10 play with 34 points, two ahead of Southern New Hampshire, and will host the winner of Tuesday's opening-round matchup between the No. 3 Penmen and No. 6 Post.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (15-13, 13-7 NE10), Post (3-24-1, 2-17-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Zach Taylor (Hanover, Mass./South Shore Kings), 1 goal, 2 assists, 11-for-17 faceoffs
• Junior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 goal, 2 assists, +2
• Sophomore Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 1 goal, 2 assists
• First-year Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns), 1 goal, 1 assist, 8-for-11 faceoffs
• Junior David Ciancio (Scituate, R.I./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 goal
• Junior Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 goal
• Senior Gabriel Gagnon (Mascouche, Quebec/East Coast Wizards), 1 assist, 4 blocked shots
• Junior Jack Macdonald (Baraboo, Wis./Seahawks Hockey Club), 1 assist, 5 faceoff wins
• Sophomore Ashton Allain (Brentwood, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 assist, 5 blocked shots
• Sophomore Cole Manahan (Hermantown, Minn./Vernal Oilers), 18 saves

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Connor Barter, 1 goal
• Junior Patrick Murphy, 8-for-13 faceoffs
• Sophomore Conner Murray, 5-for-8 faceoffs
• Junior Drew Blodgett, 7 saves in 22:34, loss
• Sophomore Benjamin Cunneen, 12 saves in 37:26 of relief

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's went 3-for-5 on the power play while holding Post scoreless on its six power plays.
• The Purple and Gold held a 30-22 advantage in faceoffs and a 25-19 lead in shots.
• The Purple Knights are 6-1 in their last seven games while winning four of those games by three or more goals.
• The Purple and Gold was 4-0 against Post during the regular season and moved to 14-6 in the all-time series.
• Fifteen wins match the Purple Knights' most since netting 16 in 1998-99. Their 13 conference wins are their most since posting a record 15 in 1988-89.

THE ACTION

• Bloom scored the first goal for Saint Michael's on the power play at 4:26 on a redirect from a shot by senior TJ Beaver (Enfield, N.H./Proctor Academy) at the point to make the score 1-0.
• Taylor scored at 10:47 on a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle that was slowed down by Blodgett, but snuck into the back of the net, on assists from McFarland and Allain.
• McFarland netted the third Saint Michael's goal just 26 seconds into the second period to give the visitors a 3-0 lead. 
• Ciancio scored the fourth straight goal for the Purple and Gold, and second on the power play, at 2:34 on a pass from McCarthy through the crease to the back door that Ciancio slotted past a diving Blodgett.
• Barter put the Eagles on the board at 18:46 by swinging on a bouncing puck in front of the net that beat Manahan on his glove side, making the score 4-1.
• McCarthy registered his sixth point of the weekend on his third-period tally at 15:44 on the power play to extend the lead to 5-1 for Saint Michael's.
• Kantgias scored just 15 seconds after McCarthy on a wrist shot from the point to ice the win for the visitors.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Post or Southern New Hampshire in an NE10 Championship semifinal, 4 p.m.