WINCHENDON, Mass. - A four-goal second period helped the Saint Michael's College complete a weekend sweep of first-place Franklin Pierce University with a 6-2 win on Saturday evening during Northeast 10 Conference play at The Winchendon School's Jason Ritchie Ice Arena.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (5-4-3, 4-2-2 NE10), Franklin Pierce (6-6, 5-3 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Ben Baxter (Hyannis, Mass./Seahawks Hockey Club), 2 goals, 1 assist, +2
• Sophomore Roman Winicki (Setauket, N.Y./Philadelphia Hockey Club), 3 assists
• Senior Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 1 goal, 1 assist, +2
• Sophomore Cole Douglas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy), 2 assists, +4
• First-year Marshall Thomas (Canton, Mass./Ironwood Lumberjacks), 1 goal (1st career), 5-for-8 faceoffs
• Senior Jake Leale (Suffern, N.Y./Connecticut RoughRiders), 1 goal
• Senior Kyle Lee (Buffalo, N.Y./Finlandia University), 1 assist, 3 blocked shots
• Senior Matti Tauriainen (Grapevine, Texas/Valley Jr. Warriors), 1 goal
• Junior Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns), 1 assist, 3 blocked shots, 7-for-16 faceoffs
• Senior Nick Wracker (Columbia, S.C./Northeast Generals), 1 assist, 6-for-11 faceoffs
• Sophomore Evan Plunkett (Charlotte, N.C./Holderness School), 40 saves
• Sophomore Jack Tuite (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Springfield Jr. Pics), 9-for-14 faceoffs
• Senior Jake Lincourt (Smithfield, R.I./Walpole Express), 4-for-6 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Austin Pick, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Sophomore Mario Paganini, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Riley Mastowski, 6 saves in 30:09, loss
• Sophomore Jeffrey Reda, 5 saves in 25:44 of relief

GAME FACTS

• Saint Michael's has won six straight from Franklin Pierce.
• The Purple Knights have yielded three goals or less in 11 of 12 games this season.
• Saint Michael's held a 33-25 lead in faceoff wins while being outshot 42-17.
• Franklin Pierce had yielded 11 goals in six NE10 games entering the weekend before the Purple and Gold tallied nine goals in the two-game set.

THE ACTION

• Thomas netted his first college goal at 14:43 of the opening period, hustling to split two defenders before one-timing Winicki's drop pass into the slot. First-year Aj Sacco (Middleton, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) provided the secondary assist.
• Pick tied the game with 17:36 gone, sending in a shot from the blue line.
• Saint Michael's scored four times in the second period to pull away. Baxter batted in a rebound of McCarthy's saved original bid 53 seconds in, and the duo reversed the sequence when McCarthy tallied off of Baxter's stopped shot during a power play at 8:12. Douglas and Winicki had secondary assists on the first and second goals, respectively.
• Wracker swung a pass off the left boards that Leale redirected from the slot at 10:09 to make it 4-1. Lee added an assist.
• With 23.7 seconds to go, Baxter finished a breakaway opportunity after Winicki blocked a pass and sent the puck up the boards and into neutral ice.
• Paganini cut his team's deficit to 5-2 39 seconds into the third period, batting in a loose puck out front.
• Tauriainen iced the victory at 17:33, potting a shorthanded strike from neutral ice on an empty net. Bloom and Douglas provided the setup.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Jan. 2 vs. Rivier University, 3 p.m.