SAINT MICHAEL'S MEN SKATE TO NORTHEAST-10 TITLE
Purple Knights down Hawks, 5-1, in first title since 2004
Information Provided By Saint Michael's Sports
Information
2007-2008 Northeast-10 Ice Hockey Tournament Champions
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - After clinching their first ever Northeast-10 regular season title a week ago, the Saint Michael's men's ice hockey team (12-14-1, 6-1-0 NE-10) knocked off the Hawks of Saint Anselm (12-12-3, 5-2-0 NE-10), 5-1, for their first conference title since 2004 on Saturday afternoon at the Cairns Arena. Tournament MVP junior goaltender Tyler Bilton (Penticton, B.C./Finlandia Univ.) dazzled the record-setting, over-capacity crowd with 31 saves, including two shutout periods on the night.
For the Purple Knights, sophomore Patrick McGuirk (Hingham,
Mass./Avon Acad.) led the offense with a pair of goals, including
the game-winner and an assist in the win. Senior Dan Anctil
(Rochester, N.H./ Valley Jr. Warriors) chipped in a goal of his own
to go along with a third-period assist.
The Hawks lone goal was scored by freshman Mike Adams (Bedford,
Mass./Winchendon School) while sophomore net-minder Jason Zuck
(Clifton, N.J./N.J. Hitmen) pushed aside 28 shots in the
evening.
Saint Michael's jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first period with
their fourth short-handed goal in the last three games on a
put-back from the senior Anctil playing in his last game as a
Purple Knight. Anctil's first goal of the post-season was a rebound
off a blast from freshman Matt Rigtrup (Upper Monclair,
N.J./Pickering Panthers) to put the Purple Knights on top. Despite
being fired upon 13 times and playing short-handed for nearly seven
minutes, the Purple Knights and Bilton posted a shut-out first
frame.
After killing three penalties in the first, Saint Michael's could
not avoid the fourth that hung over from the opening frame as Saint
Anselm knotted the score when freshman Mike Adams (Bedford,
Mass./Winchendon School) capped off a two-on-one break from
classmate Nick Wheeler (Nashua, N.H./NE Jr. Huskies). The draw
would not last long as Saint Michaels' sophomore Patrick McGuirk
(Hingham, Mass./Avon Acad.) broke away for his fifth goal on the
year.
The Purple Knights' problems with penalties persisted through the
third but fighting off two short-handed segments, Saint Michael's
tacked on to the lead with a three-on-two break that saw McGuirk
feeding sophomore Alex Higgins (Phoenix, Ariz./Kent School) at the
9:40 mark. McGuirk would score his second goal late in the third,
providing more insurance for the Purple Knights before sophomore
Ryan Nest (Gansevoort, N.Y./NSA Prep) sent home an empty-netter in
the final two minutes. More deft play from the keeper Bilton gave
Saint Michael's their second shut- out period of the game and first
Northeast-10 Conference title since March 6, 2004 when the Purple
Knights skated past the very same Hawks, 5-4.
The Northeast-10 All-Conference team was also named following the
contest with juniors Chris Healey (Salem, N.H./NH Jr. Monarchs) and
John Burns (Sandwich, Mass./UConn) among the honorees. Junior Ryan
Mero (Peekskill, N.Y./Avon Acad.) was named the Northeast-10
Conference ‘Player of the Year' for his league-leading 20
goals and 37 points. The Purple Knights' interim head coach Chris
Davidson was also named the Northeast-10 ‘Coach of the Year'.