SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – An early three-goal deficit proved to be too much to overcome, as the Southern New Hampshire University ice hockey team dropped its season-opener on the road to Saint Michael's College by a final score of 3-2. The Penmen fall to 0-1 overall and in the Northeast-10 Conference while the Purple Knights move to 1-0 on the season and in league play.

The contest was a rematch of the 2014 Northeast-10 Conference title game, which Southern New Hampshire won by a final score of 4-1.

Before the opening face-off occurred, the Penmen were assessed a protocol violation that put them a man down for the game's first two minutes. Saint Michael's capitalized on the opportunity, as senior Eric Robinson (Williston, Vt.) opened the scoring 1:23 into the first stanza.

The Purple Knights pushed their lead to a pair with just over four minutes remaining in the first period. After SNHU was whistled for its fifth penalty of the game, sophomore Josh Dickman (Kapaa, Hawaii) found the back of the net to send the teams into the locker room with the score 2-0. Sophomore Stephen Inman (Coventry, R.I.) and senior Jeremy Wong (Montreal, Quebec) assisted on both first period goals for Saint Michael's.

The two teams traded opportunities through the majority of the second period with the Purple Knights holding a slight, 13-9, shot advantage in the first 15 minutes of the middle frame. Saint Michael's picked up its third goal with 4:37 left to play in the second when junior Kevin Altidor (Montreal, Quebec) picked up the power play goal off a feed from senior AJ Pieprzak (Barrie, Ontario).

The Penmen responded just 1:28 later to cut the deficit to 3-1. After the Purple Knights were whistled for a cross-check, sophomore Jay Sylvia (Acushnet, Mass.) converted on the powerplay off assists from senior Dane Caracino (Belmont, Mass.) and junior Joe Collins (Mansfield, Mass.).

Southern New Hampshire made it a one-goal game 54 seconds later with its second powerplay goal of the period. Saint Michael's picked up a boarding penalty 20 seconds after Sylvia's goal, and once again the Penmen capitalized. Collins was the beneficiary this time around, as he buried his first goal of the season from Caracino and junior Jim Gabrione (Boca Raton, Fla.) to make it 3-2 heading into the third.

Neither team was able to solve the opponent's goaltender in the final period, as freshman Matthew MacInnis (Arlington, Texas) turned aside 12 shots in the third for SNHU and senior Dave Donzanti (West Chester, Pa.) recorded eight saves for Saint Michael's. For the game, MacInnis registered 39 saves in the setback, while Donzanti earned the victory with a 24-save performance.

The two teams combined for 60 penalty minutes on 26 infractions, which resulted in all-five goals coming on the powerplay. The Penmen were assessed 15 penalties for a total of 38 minutes while the Purple Knights were whistled for 11 times for 22 minutes.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action on Tuesday when it opens up its home schedule against Framingham State University at 7 p.m. at the Ice Den in Hooksett, N.H. Saint Michael's returns to the ice on Friday when it travels to Norwich University for a 7 p.m. face-off with the Cadets.

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