COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team has earned a first-round bye into a Northeast 10 Conference Championship semifinal, which the second-seeded Purple Knights will host on Saturday at Cairns Arena in South Burlington at 3 p.m. They are set to oppose the winner of Tuesday's first-round contest between No. 3 Saint Anselm College and No. 6 Southern New Hampshire University.
 
Tickets, which can be purchased at the door, are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and children, and free for students at NE10 schools with a valid ID. Fans will not be permitted to bring bags or beverage containers into the arena during the game. A meeting with Saint Anselm would be a rematch of the 2025 NE10 title game, won by the Purple Knights, 5-1, at Sullivan Arena in Manchester, N.H.
 
After going 16-11-3 overall (11-7-2 NE10) during the regular season, the Purple Knights begin pursuit of their seventh NE10 postseason crown, and second in a row. Saint Michael's hosts a semifinal for the fourth straight season, having gone 10-3 in league semifinals at Cairns Arena. The Purple Knights went 3-1 against both Saint Anselm and Southern New Hampshire during the regular season, with all three wins over the Penmen by one goal.
 
No. 1 Assumption University hosts Saturday's other semifinal, opposing the winner of Tuesday's other first-round contest between No. 4 Post University and No. 5 Franklin Pierce University. The highest remaining seed hosts the championship game on March 7.
 
Under first-year head coach Jack Fitzgerald, the Purple Knights lead the NE10 in goals-against average (2.37), save percentage (.941) and blocked shots (378). Sophomore Evan Plunkett (Charlotte, N.C./Holderness School) has keyed the strong defensive effort, starting 21 games in net and standing second in the league in goals-against average (1.99) and save percentage (.944) while posting two shutouts. He was recently named a semifinalist for the Joe Concannon Award, which recognizes the top American-born men's player at an NCAA Division II/III school in New England. Senior Cole Manahan (Hermantown, Minn./Vernal Oilers) leads the NE10 in saves per game (37.3) while standing third in save percentage (.936) across nine starts.
 
Senior assistant captain Quinn McCarthy (Melrose, Mass./Holderness School) paces the squad in goals (12) and points (24) while notching three power-play goals and three game-winning strikes, and junior Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns) adds 10 goals, nine assists, four power-play goals, 36 blocked shots, and a team-best 244 faceoff wins at a 51.5% success rate. First-year Aj Sacco (Middleton, Mass./Islanders Hockey Club) owns nine goals, eight assists, and a program-record-tying five game-winning goals, tying for the league lead, while junior Brayden Naumann (Boston, Mass./Dexter Southfield School) contributed eight goals and nine helpers.
 
Junior Hans Forselius (Guilford, Conn./Seahawks Hockey Club) has seven goals and eight assists despite missing six games, sophomore Sj LeComte (Port Monmouth, N.J./Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings) has nine goals and 12 points, and classmate Jack Tuite (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Springfield Jr. Pics) adds 12 points and 235 faceoff wins. First-year Marshall Thomas (Canton, Mass./Ironwood Lumberjacks) wins his faceoffs at a team-high 52.5% clip, and senior assistant captain Nick Wracker (Columbia, S.C./Northeast Generals) has 85 wins after a recent move to center.
 
Senior captain Ashton Allain (Brentwood, Tenn./Walpole Express) anchors the defense while blocking a team-high 43 shots, and junior Cole Douglas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) handed out a team-high 17 assists from his spot on the blue line. First-year Evan Dresser (Everett, Mass./Belmont Hill School) is a team-best +11 with 10 points and 32 blocks, while senior Kyle Lee (Buffalo, N.Y./Finlandia University) and sophomore Ian Wolanin (Pomfret, Conn./HC Rhode Island) both add six assists and seven points.