SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College men's ice hockey team fell by a 5-4 score on the road at Saint Michael's College on Saturday. Storming out to a 2-0 lead in the game's first 2:32, the Hawks couldn't hold on as the Purple Knights tallied the game winning goal late in the third period. 

Box Score

Both teams exited play with matching 11-8-2 overall records, but the Purple Knights leap-frog Saint Anselm in the Northeast-10 Conference standings. Saint Michael's now owns a 7-5-1 record versus league foes while the Hawks have logged a 6-3-2 mark against NE10 programs.

With the score tied at four entering the third period, Thomas Flack scored the game-winning goal with under five minutes to go, sending the Hawks to their first loss since Jan. 4.  Saint Anselm was outshot in the game, 35-to-29, and conceded three power play goals to the Purple Knights.

Senior Trey Aiello (Williamsburg, Va.) opened up the scoring just 34 seconds into the game. Classmate Sean Verrier(Reading, Ma.) ripped a shot from the blue line that was tipped by Aiello past the Purple Knights goaltender, Tim Decker. 

Just under two minutes later, sophomore Kevin Ouellette (Arlington, Ma.) notched his first goal of the season as he wristed a shot past Decker to double the Hawks lead. 

Saint Michael's responded with two power play goals in the final four minutes of the first period, the first off the stick of Noah Muller and the final extra-man goal coming from Cameron Stewart. 

A quarter of the way into the second period, senior Mike Ferraro (Northbridge, Ma.) added his name to the Hawks list of goal scorers as he buried a rebound for the go-ahead goal. Anthony Iacullo (Barrington, Ill.) and Liam O'Sullivan (North Hampton, N.H.) each posted their first assists of the game on the play and both finished with two on the night. 

Saint Michael's tied the game on a Paul Cerda marker at 10:01 before the Purple Knights' third power play goal of the evening came only 2:23 later. Paul McAuliffe, who was set up by Niall Foster, propelled the hosts into the lead, 4-3.

With nine seconds to go in the second period, Kilian Hammersmith (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) responded with a power play marker of his own to knot the game at four heading into the third period. 

Hawks backstop Nick Howard (Burlington, Mass.) allowed five goals on 35 shots, drawing the loss. Decker finished with 25 saves on 29 shots, picking up the victory in net. Saint Anselm was whistled for 20 minutes worth of penalties, 

Senior captain Dave Almeida (Bristol, R.I.) competed in his 100th career game in the loss for Saint Anselm. 

The Hawks are back in action on Sunday, taking on Saint Michael's in the Green Mountain State at 12:50 p.m.