MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Saint Anselm men's hockey team played their final ECAC East Conference game this evening against NESCAC member Colby College.  The Hawks' offense struggled to get going, as they fell to the Mules, 4-1.  However, a loss by Babson College this evening allows the Hawks to finish in second place in the ECAC East, a feat they have never before achieved in program history.  Today's win gives the Mules an eighth-place finish in the NESCAC Conference with a 11-8-4 (7-8-4 NESCAC) record, while the Hawks fall to 12-11-1 (9-9-1 ECAC East).

The Hawks opened the scoring at 11:32 in the first period, when Andrew Kacz (North Dighton, Mass.) and John Penny (Shelton, Conn.) set up Nick Rossi (Smithtown, N.Y.) for the first goal of the game.  The Hawks' lead did not last long, however, for at 11:55, Nick Kondiles tied the score at one.  Shortly after at 13:23, Patrick Bursee gave the Mules the lead.

At 13:44 in the second, Mike White netted a power-play goal for the Mules, putting them up 3-1, and Wil Hartigan secured the Mules'  a 4-1 victory at 17:04 in the third.

Hawk goaltender Alex Wyse (Amherst, N.Y.) made 35 saves in the game, and his Mule counterpart Jim Lemonias turned aside 30 shots.  The Hawks conclude the regular season next Thursday, February 25th, when they travel to Easton, Mass., to take on the Stonehill College Skyhawks in a Northeast-10 Conference competition.  The game will begin at 7:00 pm.

Assumption's loss to Southern New Hampshire this afternoon clinched the Hawks the top seed in the Northeast-10 Tournament, beginning February 27th.  The Hawks will have a first-round bye in the tournament, and will host the lowest-remaining seed at Sullivan Arena on March 3rd.  Should they win their semifinal, they will host the championship game on March 6th.