SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - Eight Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey players had multiple points on Friday, when the Purple Knights scored the final six goals to defeat Franklin Pierce University, 9-3, during Northeast 10 Conference play at Cairns Arena. By virtue of Saint Anselm College's loss to first-place Assumption University, the Purple Knights tied the Hawks for second place in the NE10 with three regular-season games to go. The top two teams earn byes through the first round of the six-team NE10 Championship.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (14-10-3, 9-6-2 NE10), Franklin Pierce (9-17, 7-10 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Junior Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns), 1 goal, 2 assists, +3, 10-for-18 faceoffs
• Sophomore Sj LeComte (Port Monmouth, N.J./Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings), 2 goals, +3
• Senior Ashton Allain (Brentwood, Tenn./Walpole Express), 1 goal, 1 assist, +3
• Senior Kyle Lee (Buffalo, N.Y./Finlandia University), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Brayden Naumann (Boston, Mass./Dexter Southfield School), 1 goal, 1 assist
• First-year Aj Sacco (Middleton, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club), 1 goal, 1 assist
• Senior Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School), 2 assists
• Junior Hans Forselius (Guilford, Conn./Seahawks Hockey Club), 2 assists
• Senior Jake Lincourt (Smithfield, R.I./Walpole Express), 1 goal, 5-for-7 faceoffs
• Sophomore Jack Tuite (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Springfield Jr. Pics), 1 goal, 7-for-13 faceoffs
• Sophomore Evan Plunkett (Charlotte, N.C./Holderness School), 22 saves
• First-year Marshall Thomas (Canton, Mass./Ironwood Lumberjacks), 7-for-10 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Sophomore Mario Paganini, 2 goals
• Junior Todd Branish, 1 goal
• Senior Jeremy Connor, 25 saves in 47:58, loss
• Junior Theo Jacobs, 7 saves in 12:02 of relief

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights had their largest scoring outburst since a 9-1 win over Southern New Hampshire University on Feb. 4, 2022.
• McCarthy pushed his career point total to 90.

THE ACTION

• Allain (2:35) and LeComte (6:33) staked the Purple Knights to a 2-0 lead early in the first period.
• Branish scored at 18:22 before Paganini found the equalizer during a power play 5:18 into the second, a stanza which eventually featured six goals.
• LeComte's go-ahead strike following a scramble out front at 7:11 was met by Paganini's second tying marker only 1:10 later.
• Saint Michael's responded with the game's final six goals, with Sacco taking Allain's feed toward the right post and jamming a shot past Connor at 13:29 for the winner. Only 1:12 later, Lee sent home a shot from the left point. Tuite crashed the net for a rebound with six seconds left in the frame.
• Bloom tallied at 7:58 of the third before Lincourt (13:46) and Naumann (14:29) scored 43 seconds apart later in the frame, with the final goal coming on a power play.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Franklin Pierce, 3 p.m.
• The Purple Knights celebrate Senior Day with a pregame ceremony.