IN-GAME HIGHLIGHTS

RYAN HOLLEY SENIOR DAY CELEBRATION

CLICK HERE TO VIEW IMAGES FROM 2011-12 SENIOR DAY

CLICK HERE TO VIEW RYAN HOLLEY'S SENIOR DAY BIOGRAPHY

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman forward Liam McKillop (New York, N.Y.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick in a four-point evening (3-1=4), lifting the Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team to a 7-4 victory over the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena on Saturday evening.  With the victory, the Hawks improve to 8-8-3 overall and to 4-8-2 within ECAC Men's East play.  The loss drops the Purple Knights to 6-12-2 and to 3-10-1 in conference play.

The second of McKillop's three goals on the evening proved to be the game-winning strike at 11:40 of the third period, placing Saint Anselm out in front by a 5-2 margin.  Defenseman Ryan Holley (Bethany Beach, Del.) initiated the play with a crisp outlet pass from the Saint Anselm defensive zone, catching the blade of McKillop upon his offensive zone entry.  Skating from left to right on goal, McKillop flicked a shot at the goaltender Mike Dizgun that was turned aside.  The rebound fell onto the back of McKillop's stick, as he was able to then elevate the shot for his seventh goal of the season.

Defenseman Steve Mollo (Saunderstown, R.I.) opened the scoring at 6:08 of the first period, placing Saint Anselm on top by a 1-0 margin in the early goings.  Forward Tucker Mullin (Andover, Mass.) sent a pass to forward Sean Jenkins (Boston, Mass.) from behind the net.  A quick Jenkins pass from the right face-off circle preceded a powerful Mollo blast from between the hash marks, eluding the desperation leg kick from Dizgun.

Mollo struck again at 13:35 of the second period as Saint Anselm built up a 2-0 lead near the midpoint of the first stanza.  Forward John Hyslip (Andover, Mass.) one-touched a pass to Mollo near the Hawks blueline.  Streaking up the ice on a one-on-one with a Saint Michael's defenseman, Mollo wristed a shot on goal from the top of the left face-off circle that beat Dizgun.  Forward Eric Czapka (Holland, Pa.) collected an assist on the play.

Following an interference penalty issued to Hawks defenseman Mike DiNardo (Allendale, N.J.), former Saint Anselm College defenseman Connor Logan scored his first goal of the season against his former team at 17:44 of the first period to halve the Saint Anselm advantage.  Defensive partner Dan Evarts sent a puck across the blue line to Logan, who blasted home a shot from the left point for the strike.  Forward Justin Castagna collected the extra assist on the play.

Mullin posted his eighth goal of the season at 10:17 of the middle period to place the Hawks up by a 3-1 score.  Czapka sent a pass forward to the top of the slot where it was gathered by defenseman Alex Pascal (Blue Bell, Pa.).  Pascal fired a powerful shot on goal that was kicked aside by Dizgun.  At the left post, Mullin was upended but managed to force the rebound past the sprawling goaltender for the strike.

Less than one minute later, A.J. Pieprzak collected his eighth goal of the season on the power play to cut into the Saint Anselm lead by a 3-2 margin.  Following a defensive zone face-off loss by Saint Anselm, the Purple Knights cycled the puck within the umbrella formation.  From the right point, defenseman Mark Higgins fired a shot on goal that was tipped by Pieprzak in the goal crease for the goal.

McKillop's first tally of the evening came at 2:46 of the third period as Saint Anselm scored their fourth goal of the game.  McKillop initiated the rush up the ice and fired a shot that missed wide of the net.  Forward Tim King (Weymouth, Mass.) retrieved the puck behind the cage and passed the it out in front where it was forced home by McKillop.  Forward Mike Richard (Derry, N.H.) also collected an assist on the play.

Richard then scored a goal of his own at 11:56 of the third period, only 16 seconds after McKillop's game-winning goal, to lift Saint Anselm to a 6-2 lead.  King won a face-off at center ice after McKillop's goal and the Hawks once again made the trek up ice.  Entrenched in the zone, McKillop sent a pass toward the right face-off dot that Richard blasted past Dizgun, picking the top corner of the net for his sixth goal of the season.

McKillop secured the hat trick at 12:48 of the third period, adding extra insurance late in the game for the Hawks.  Several attempts were made on goal by the Hawks offense that were all turned aside by Dizgun, including a point-blank blast by Richard at the goal mouth. Crashing the right post was McKillop who forced home the juicy rebound for the strike.

Freshman defenseman John Teulings scored his first career goal at 17:28 of the third period, potting the Purple Knights third goal of the game.  Following an offensive zone face-off victory by forward Will Côté, Teulings fired a shot on goal that was initially stopped by Kang, but the puck trickled out of his glove and across the goal line for the even-strength strike.

Pieprzak scored his second goal of the game at 19:19 of the third period, notching the fourth and final goal for Saint Michael's on the evening.  Forward Rich Rodeschini powered a shot on goal that was kicked aside by Kang.  Crashing the right post was Pieprzak who pushed the puck forward for the final goal for either side.

Kang (4-2-1) posted the victory in net, improving his record to 4-2-1 on the season after turning aside 33-of-37 shots on goal.  Dizgun (5-10-2) drew the loss, allowing all seven goals on 42 shots on net.  In relief, Saint Michael's goaltender Eric McGuirk played the final 6:52, making two saves.

Saint Anselm was 3-for-6 on the power play.  Saint Michael's was 3-for-10 with the extra skater.

NOTABLES: Saint Anselm holds the 11-7-2 advantage all-time against the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College…Forward Tim King has maintained an eight-game point streak dating back to Southern Maine on Jan. 13, scoring two goals and 12 assists for 14 points (2-12=12) during that span…Forward Mike Richard has recorded four goals and six assists for 10 points (4-6=10) across his last four games after recording his first-career four point game this evening…Forward Liam McKillop has scored a goal in each of his last three games and scored the first hat trick of his collegiate career this evening…McKillop has five goals and one assist for six points (5-1=6) across his prior three games…The lone senior from this year's squad, defenseman Ryan Holley, was honored with a pre-game ceremony celebrating his accomplishments with the program.

The men's ice hockey team returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 7 as they host cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University at the Thomas F. Sullivan Arena in a 4 p.m. contest. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by friending us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).