Men’s Hockey: St. Mike’s Falls 2-0 at Amherst

Posted on by George Commo

Courtesy St. Michael’s Sports Information

AMHERST, MA. — The Saint Michael’s College men’s ice hockey team fell to Amherst College, 2-0, on Tuesday in a non-conference game at Orr Rink. The Mammoths were New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship runners-up last year.

RECORDS
· Saint Michael’s (4-3-1), Amherst (2-2)

SAINT MICHAEL’S LEADERS
· Junior Niall Foster (Newmarket, N.H./Walpole Express), 13-for-15 on faceoffs
· First-year Alec Lindberg (Bedford, N.H./Hampton Road Whalers), 44 saves (career high)

OPPONENT LEADERS
· Junior Jack Lloyd, 1 goal, 1 assist
· Senior P.J. Conlon, 1 goal
· Sophomore Mitchell Shults, 13-for-16 on faceoffs
· First-year Dan Dachille, 14 saves

GAME FACTS
· Amherst was the runner-up in last year’s New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship, losing to Trinity (Conn.) College, 3-2, in overtime during the title game.
· Twenty of the Purple Knights’ last 22 games dating back to last January have been decided by two goals or less.

THE ACTION
· Lindberg was tested early when he made four saves on a Mammoth power play five minutes into the first period.
· The Mammoths took the lead 14:16 into the first period when a loose puck in front of the net was put in by Conlon after multiple players from each team tried to get their stick on the puck in the scrum.
· Lindberg saved a point-blank shot by sophomore Sean Wrenn 7:15 into the second period to keep the Purple Knight deficit at one.
· The Mammoths took a two-goal lead 1:05 into the third period on a goal by Lloyd that beat Lindberg glove side.
· A shot by first-year Joey Verkerke 10:10 into the third period was saved by Lindberg, who was able to cover up the puck and deny a rebound attempt.
· First-year Jeremy Routh (Hamden, Conn./New Hampshire Junior Monarchs) skated up the right side of the ice 17:28 into the third period and shot to the top right corner, but Dachille was there for the save.
· The Purple Knights pulled Lindberg at 17:31 but were unable to get the puck in the net. The Mammoths had a shot on the open net at 18:51, but the shot was blocked by junior Cameron Stewart (Sabattus, Maine/East Coast Wizards) to keep the score 2-0.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL’S GAME
· Dec. 6 vs. Southern New Hampshire University, 7 p.m.
· The Penmen are the defending Northeast-10 Conference Championship titlist.