COLCHESTER, Vt. – Returning to Northeast 10 Conference play for the first time since December 9th, 2023, against Southern New Hampshire, Post University Men's Ice Hockey headed on the road to face Saint Michael's College on Thursday night in their first of two road matchups and first of four matchups this season against a Purple Knights that had lost eight straight coming into the night.
Coming back from a pair of one-goal deficits in the second and third, the Eagles would force overtime against Saint Michael's but were unable to complete the comeback, falling 3-2 on a sudden death goal by junior forward Brennan McFarland, his second goal of the night.
THE BASICS
Post University 2, Saint Michael's College 3 (OT)
Post University (2-12-1, 1-8-1 NE10)
Saint Michael's College (8-9-0, 6-3-0 NE10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Junior forward Jack McDonald got the Purple Knights on the scoreboard first with a shot from the bottom of the right circle which squirted by junior goalie Zach Richards after junior forward Jack Bavis and senior defenseman Gabriel Gagnon teamed up for the assists. Richards would stop nine total shots out of the 10 he faced while senior goalie Marshall Murphy was up to the Eagles' challenge making all six necessary saves.
Sophomore forward Jake Aloi would tie the game up at one only 1:22 into the second during a 4-on-4 that carried over from the first. Aloi would steal the puck at center ice and head on the breakaway before beating Murphy with the wrist shot for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. The tie would be short-lived as just over two minutes later, McFarland would get the rebound from junior defenseman Moseley Schwartz's blocked shot and fire it into the open right side of the net by Richards to give Saint Michael's the lead back, 2-1.
After scoring two power-play goals in their game against King's College which broke a stretch of 27 straight man-up opportunities without a goal, junior forward Patrick Murphy would make the most of the second consecutive power play they had just 31 seconds after their initial one. Sophomore forward Jacob Howell located sophomore defenseman Ryan Cardow who fired on Marshall Murphy, Cardow's shot redirected to Patrick Murphy in front who scored the game-tying goal with 4:26 left in regulation which forced the overtime.
Heading into the five-minute sudden-death session, Post would have a 4-on-3 advantage for the first 1:54 after junior defenseman David Cianciolo was called for a tripping penalty at the end of the third. Making their fourth kill of the night, the Purple Knights would keep the Eagles off the scoreboard despite a six-shot blitz by the offense. Despite a 7-1 shot on goal advantage, the one shot for Saint Michael's would make all the difference as McFarland would go coast-to-coast untouched and beat Richards in the splits to give the Purple Knights the 3-2 win, snapping their eight-game losing streak.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the third-period assist, Ryan Cardow extends his point streak to three straight games – Cardow has two goals, three assists, and five points during the stretch
- The Post penalty kill went 4-for-4 on the day, snapping an eight-game streak in which they allowed a power play goal to their opponent
- Post University now has a 2-5-1 record when they score two-plus goals in a game on the year
- Post University has now lost five consecutive games against Saint Michael's with their last win coming just under two years ago (Feb. 26, 2022)
WHO'S NEXT
Post University returns to conference play on Thursday night in their first of two road matchups with Saint Michael's College with the first being scheduled to kick off at 6:10 PM. The Eagles are 6-10-0 all-time against the Purple Knights, but have dropped five of their last six matchups against them dating back to January 22, 2022. On the road last season, Post was outscored by a 10-4 margin in their pair of road losses to Saint Michael's.
