SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – Senior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles) scored three goals and added one assist as the Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team defeated Assumption University, 5-1, on Friday evening during Northeast-10 Conference play at Cairns Arena.
 
The Purple Knights vaulted Southern New Hampshire University, which lost to regular-season champion Saint Anselm College on Friday, to take over second place in the NE10. With one game remaining, Saint Michael's is a point ahead of the Penmen; the top two teams earn first-round byes into home semifinals. The Purple Knights' win on Friday assured them of a home game to begin the postseason.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (15-11-2, 11-8 NE10), Assumption (12-17, 9-10 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Senior Brennan McFarland (Greeley, Colo./Northern Colorado Eagles), 3 goals, 1 assist, +3
• Junior Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 1 goal, 2 assists, +3
• First-year Roman Winicki (Setauket, N.Y./Philadelphia Hockey Club), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior Moseley Schwartz (Philadelphia, Pa./Phillips Academy), 2 assists
• First-year Evan Plunkett (Charlotte, N.C./Holderness School), 49 saves (career high)
• Senior Case Kantgias (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Northern Colorado Eagles), 1 assist, 6 blocked shots
• Senior Jack Macdonald (Baraboo, Wis./Seahawks Hockey Club), 15-for-18 faceoffs, 3 blocked shots
• Sophomore Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns), 1 assist, 13-for-20 faceoffs
• Junior Ashton Allain (Brentwood, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 assist

OPPONENT LEADERS

• First-year Declan Chapman, 1 goal
• Sophomore Daniel Lemanski, 1 assist
• First-year Shane McElhaney, 1 assist
• Graduate student Thomas McLarnon, 17 saves in 40 minutes, loss
• Sophomore Callum Welch, 13 saves in 20 minutes of relief

GAME FACTS

• McFarland tied Josh Ralph '00 for 10th in career assists with his second-period helper to register career assist number 65. McFarland also now has 96 career points.
• The Greyhounds outshot the Purple Knights, 50-35, while the Purple Knights held advantages in faceoffs (39-25) and blocked shots (20-2).
• The Purple Knights' power play unit was 1-for-2 on the night while the penalty kill was a perfect 2-for-2.

THE ACTION

• Chapman opened the game's scoring at 1:40 in the first period with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that found the top right corner of the cage to give the Greyhounds an early 1-0 lead on assists from Lemanski and McElhaney.
• The Purple Knights responded at 4:07 when Schwartz found McFarland on the right side of the crease for a tap-in goal to make it 1-1. McCarthy added a secondary assist.
• Winicki scored 38 seconds later to make the score 2-1 on Kantgias' centering pass for a quick shot right in front of the goal.
• At 1:19 of the second period, McFarland finished a give-and-go with Winicki just outside the crease on the power play. Bloom added a helper.
• McCarthy redirected Allain's slapshot at 18:47 to make the score 4-1 in favor of the hosts. McFarland added a secondary assist for his 65th career assist.
• Plunkett made 19 saves in the second period to keep the Greyhounds from shortening the lead.
• McFarland sealed the hat trick at 5:53 in the third period on a breakaway chance to make it 5-1. McCarthy and Schwartz had assists on the final goal of the night.
• Plunkett locked down the Greyhound offense in the third period, making 17 stops to keep the visitors from cutting the lead down.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Assumption, 3 p.m.
• The Purple Knights will honor their seniors during a postgame ceremony.