SHELTON, Conn. – While Post University Men's Ice Hockey entered the day locked into the sixth seed for this week's Northeast 10 Conference Tournament, Saint Michael's College entered the day still playing for seeding and a chance at a bye in the first round. Getting off to a fast start and maintaining that momentum throughout, the Purple Knights earned a bye with a 6-1 win and set up the Eagles with a Tuesday night matchup on the road against Southern New Hampshire at 7:10 PM.
THE BASICS
Post University 1, Saint Michael's College 6
Post University (3-24-1, 2-17-1 NE10)
Saint Michael's College (15-13-0, 13-7-0 NE10)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Like they did yesterday, it was an early blitz of goals for Saint Michael's as they scored two against junior goalie
Drew Blodgett to take a 2-0 lead into the second period. After going 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in yesterday's game, the first power-play for the Purple Knights would result in a goal from freshman forward Ty Bloom after he tipped a shot fired by senior defenseman TJ Beaver just under 4:30 into the frame.
Right after the midway point of the period, senior forward Zach Taylor, who had two assists in yesterday's affair, netted one by Blodgett who bobbled the puck in midair and was unable to recover it before it slid across the goal line for the second goal of the day for Saint Michael's.
Two goals in two minutes to open the second period helped the Purple Knights gain full control of the contest as junior forward Brennan McFarland netted one on a wraparound opportunity just 29 seconds in. Then on the power-play chance, junior defenseman David Ciancio added on to the lead after rifling a shot by Blodgett, who was lifted for sophomore goalie
Benjamin Cunneen following the goal. Senior forward
Connor Barter would put one home for Post towards the end of the period off his initial shot which was recentered by senior forward
Brandon Crowther and graduate forward
Jack Engdahl, making it a 4-1 game heading into the third.
A third power-play goal of the day would come from the Purple Knights towards the end of the third from sophomore forward Quinn McCarthy and then 15 seconds later, junior defenseman Case Kantgias netted one by Cunneen to cap off the six-goal afternoon for Saint Michael's as the Eagles dropped their final regular season game of the year, 6-1.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Jack Engdahl has now played in a program-record 109 career games following his appearance on Sunday
- After going 7-for-7 on the penalty kill yesterday, Post University allowed three power-play goals to Saint Michael's after just snapping a three-game streak in which they allowed their opponent to score on the power play
- On the weekend, Post University went 0-for-11 on the power play across two games
- Post University has now lost eight consecutive games against Saint Michael's College, last defeating them on February 26th, 2022 at home, 3-1
WHO'S NEXT
Already locked into the sixth seed, Post University will be traveling on the road to face off against three-seeded Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday night at 7:10 PM. The Eagles have lost five straight games against the Penmen and were swept this season in their four games against them by a combined score of 16-3 without scoring more than a goal in a game.
