SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College men's ice hockey team lost to Post University, 2-0, on Friday during the opener of a Northeast 10 Conference weekend series in Cairns Arena. With five regular-season games remaining, the Purple Knights occupy third place in the NE10, just two points short of second-place Saint Anselm College and two ahead of fourth-place Franklin Pierce University.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (12-10-3, 7-6-2 NE10), Post (5-16-1, 4-10-1 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Evan Plunkett (Charlotte, N.C./Holderness School), 24 saves
• Junior Ty Bloom (Helena, Mont./Helena Bighorns), 9-for-19 faceoffs
• Senior Nick Wracker (Columbia, S.C./Northeast Generals), 8-for-12 faceoffs
• First-year Marshall Thomas (Canton, Mass./Ironwood Lumberjacks), 7-for-10 faceoffs
• Sophomore Jack Tuite (Shrub Oak, N.Y./Springfield Jr. Pics), 6-for-13 faceoffs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Benjamin Cunneen, 19 saves
• Senior Jacob Howell, 1 goal
• Senior Baxter Kimball, 1 goal

THE ACTION

• Howell staked Post to a lead just 1:17 into the contest, winning a faceoff to the right of the net and charging toward Plunkett before finishing in close.
• Post nearly made it 2-0 at 13:14 of the second period, but Plunkett made a pad save of sophomore Michael Montague's close-range shorthanded bid.
• Sophomore Roman Winicki (Setauket, N.Y./Philadelphia Hockey Club) carried down the seam against two Post defenders later in the frame but had a shot up close turned away at 15:42.
• Plunkett vacated his net in favor of an extra attacker with 2:14 left in regulation, and Bloom's tying bid was denied by Cunneen at 18:12 for his team's lone shot on net during 6-on-5 play. After picking up a loose puck off of a giveaway in neutral ice, Kimball doubled the lead with 18:50 gone, tallying on the empty net.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Post, 2 p.m.
• The Purple Knights host their Pride Game that day.