For Immediate Release
March 2, 2011
South Easton, Mass. – Saint Michael's College will host Saint Anselm College this Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Championship. The two teams, who were the top two seeds heading into tournament play, advanced tonight and will play in the title game this weekend.
Saint Michael's will be looking for their fourth NE-10 Championship, while Saint Anselm, the defending champions, will be looking for their league-best sixth.
Top-seeded Saint Michael's (11-14-1) advanced in a penalty-laden win over sixth-seeded Southern New Hampshire University, 5-3 in South Burlington, Vermont. The Purple Knights jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, and lead 4-0 midway through the second period, but the Penmen made things interesting late with three unanswered goals to pull to within one at 4-3. Saint Michael's would get an empty net goal to make the final score 5-3.
All Northeast-10 Second Team forward, Reave MacKinnon had two goals and an assist for the Purple Knights. Goaltender Mike Dizgun stopped 18 shots in the win.
Saint Michael's will host longtime rival Saint Anselm after the Hawks knocked off a pesky Assumption College squad, 3-2. Saint Anselm (12-11-2) jumped out to an early lead, and led 2-1 after the first period. The Hawks would extend their margin whenJohn Hyslip scored midway through the second period to make the score 3-1. Assumption would score with just under two minutes left in regulation to pull to within one at 3-2, but Saint Anselm would hold on for the win.
Conference Rookie and Goalie of the YearRob Kang had 19 saves in the win.
The wins by the top two seeds sets up a showdown between the two winningest teams in the conference's history and a rematch of the championship tilt following the 2007-08 season, which saw Saint Michael's take the title 5-1.
The two teams met earlier this year, in January, with Saint Michael's taking a 4-2 decision in Manchester, N.H. In that game, Saint Michael's scored the first three goals of the game, and led 3-0 after two periods, but Saint Anselm tallied back-to-back to make the score 3-2 with just under five minutes left. Saint Michael's would get an empty net goal for the 4-2 decision.
The championship game will feature six of the Northeast-10's twelve All-Conference honorees, including the aforementioned Kang, the dual-award winner.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that are committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
-NE-10-
Quarterfinals
#6 So. New Hampshire 3, #3 Franklin Pierce 2, OT
#4 Assumption 5, #5 Stonehill 2
Wednesday, March 2
Semifinals
#1 Saint Michael's 5, #6 So. New Hampshire 3
#2 Saint Anselm 3, #4 Assumption 2
Saturday, March 5
at Higher Seed
Finals
#2 Saint Anselm at #1 Saint Michael's, 3pm
