SHELTON, Conn. – It was a Senior Day spoiler for Post University Men's Ice Hockey who welcomed Saint Michael's College to the Sports Center of Connecticut for a pair of conference games against the Purple Knights to close out the 2023-24 regular season ahead of the Northeast 10 Conference Tournament starting next week. Using three first-period goals by three different players, Saint Michael's held off a second-period push and third-period comeback attempt by the Eagles to take the first game, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon in Shelton, Connecticut.
THE BASICS
Post University 2, Saint Michael's College 3
Post University (3-23-1, 2-16-1 NE10)
Saint Michael's College (14-13-0, 12-7-0 NE10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After honoring the seniors on the ice before puck drop, Saint Michael's would waste no time getting on the scoreboard first only 1:05 into the opening frame. Sophomore forward Nick Wracker corralled a loose puck behind the net and located senior defenseman TJ Beaver with open space in front of junior goalie Drew Blodgett, giving the Purple Knights a quick 1-0 edge.
In the latter stages of the first, Saint Michael's would net two more in the span of less than a minute as junior defenseman Case Kantigias converted on an odd-man rush attempt from sophomore forward Quinn McCarthy and junior forward Brennan McFarland first. McFarland would be the recipient of the third Purple Knights goal on another odd-man rush from Beaver and Taylor to put Saint Michael's ahead by three heading into the second.
Senior forward Brandon Crowther would give the Eagles some life less than three minutes into the period after senior forward Connor Barter's faceoff win led to Crowther's shot near the point to get Post on the scoreboard and cut their deficit down to two, 3-1. Graduate forward Jack Engdahl helped pick up more steam for Post in the closing three minutes of the frame when freshman defenseman Cameron Craig located Barter on the left wing. Engdahl would take the pass from Barter on the right side and bury it past sophomore goalie Cole Manahan as the Eagles trailed by just one, 3-2, with 20 minutes to play.
In hopes of pulling off a comeback on Senior Day, the Eagles would attack hard on the offensive end to try and get the equalizer against the Purple Knights. Despite a 12-5 edge in shots on goal and having a 6-on-5 advantage with Blodgett pulled from the net for the final minute and change, Post would be unable to find the back of the net against Cole who stood strong with 33 saves for Saint Michael's in the 3-2 loss. After that blitz by the Purple Knights in the first period, Blodgett only faced 14 shots in net, stopping all of them.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Jack Engdahl has now played in a program-record 108 career games following his appearance on Saturday night
- With a perfect 7-for-7 penalty kill today, Post University snapped a three-game streak in which they allowed their opponent to score on the power play
- After scoring on the power play in three straight games for the first time since last season, Post University went 0-for-5 on the power play in today's game
- On Senior Day, Nick Brewer played in his 100th career game for Post University
- Post University has now lost seven consecutive games against Saint Michael's College, last defeating them on February 26th, 2022 at home, 3-1
WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes the season tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 PM against Saint Michael's College in a make-up game from Friday at the Sports Center of Connecticut's Lower Rink.
