Skidmore (7-10-2, 6-5-1 NEHC) at Saint Michael's (7-10-2, 4-8-1 NEHC)
Game Details: Friday, Jan. 27 | 7:00 p.m.
Location: South Burlington, Vt. – C. Douglas Cairns Recreation Arena
Game Links: Stats | Video
Skidmore: Roster | Stats
Saint Michael's: Roster | Stats
 
Skidmore (7-10-2, 6-5-1 NEHC) at #2/2 Norwich (17-1-2, 12-1 NEHC)
Game Details: Saturday, Jan. 28 | 4:00 p.m.
Location: Northfield, Vt. – Kreitzberg Arena
Game Links: Stats | Video | Audio
Skidmore: Roster | Stats
Norwich: Roster | Stats
 
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College men's hockey team begins its regular season-ending stretch with a pair of road contests this weekend. The Thoroughbreds travel to Saint Michael's on Friday for a 7 p.m. start, before finishing the weekend against ranked Norwich on Saturday in a 4 p.m. start.
 
The Thoroughbreds will be on the road in five of the next six contests, which include matchups against St. Michael's, Norwich, Daniel Webster, Southern Maine, and Castleton. The lone home contest is the home finale on Feb. 3 against travel partner Castleton.
 
Skidmore comes into the weekend sporting a 7-10-2 overall record, and a 6-5-1 mark in league play. They sit in fifth place in the league standings with 14 points, one point behind fourth-place Castleton, and two points behind third-place Babson. Four points separate the second through six spots in the standings as the teams battle for postseason positioning.
 
Last weekend, the Thoroughbreds dropped a pair of games, falling to UMass-Boston 7-2 on Friday, and dropping a close 1-0 contest to Babson on Saturday. Senior Anthony Bird tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season on a shorthanded effort on Friday. Bird has a league-leading three shorthanded goals, with all three of those tallies coming at the hands of UMass-Boston. Freshman Matt Bernot tallied his third goal of the season against the Beacons, with the assists coming from fellow freshmen John Litscher and Chris Javens.
 
Nationally, the Thoroughbreds continue to shine on the penalty kill. They are 14th in the nation with a man disadvantage, stopping 90-of-104 attempts for an 86.5 percent success rate.
 
Saint Michael's comes into the weekend with a 7-10-2 overall record and a 4-8-1 mark in the league. Last weekend, the Purple Knights fell 2-1 to Saint Anselm on Friday and 4-1 to New England College on Saturday.
 
The Purple Knights sport four double-digit point scorers so far. Sam D'Antuono leads the pack with 19 points on seven goals and a team-leading 12 assists. Eric Salzillo is right behind with 18 points, sharing the team lead with eight goals. Sharing the lead in goals is Josh Dickman, who also has eight goals to go along with five assists, and Danny Divis rounds out the double-digit scorers with 15 points on four goals and 11 assists. In net, Chris Johnson has played in 18 of 19 contests, sporting a 6-10-2 record with a 3.45 goals against average and a .909 save percentage.
 
The two teams last played on Nov. 19 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Skidmore got the best of Saint Michael's, scoring three times in the second and third period for the 6-4 victory. Litscher notched a pair of goals, including the game-winner. Freshmen Owen Campbell, Tim Allen, and Adam Moodie, along with sophomore Corey Morgan, also scored. Brandon Kasel picked up his third win of the season in net, stopping 23 shots.
 
League-leading Norwich comes into the weekend with a 12-1 mark in NEHC play and a 17-1-2 record overall. The Cadets are the second ranked team in both the USCHO.com and d3hockey.com national polls, and they will host Castleton on Friday at 7 p.m. before the matchup against Skidmore. Norwich defeated New England College 4-3 on Friday and Saint Anslem 6-1 on Saturday to stretch its unbeaten streak to 14 games.
 
The Cadets sport four players with 20 or more points. Cody Smith leads the way with 24 points, all on assists. He currently leads the nation with his 24 assists. Kevin Salvucci (12-11-23) and William Pelletier (11-12-23) each have 23 points, and Anthony Flaherty has 21 points on nine goals and 12 asissts. Salvucci and Tyler Piacentini each have 12 goals to lead the team.
 
Braeden Ostepchuk and Ty Reichenback share the goaltending duties in net. Ostepchuk has the edge; in 12 games he is an undefeated 11-0, sporting a 1.61 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. Reichenbach has a 6-1-2 record in 10 games played, sporting a 1.95 goals against average and a .916 save percentage.
 
Skidmore gave Norwich its only loss of the season back on Nov. 18 in Saratoga Springs. Down 2-0, the Thoroughbreds stormed back with third period goals from senior Marc Cibelli and Campbell. In overtime, senior Connor Van Arnam tallied his second of the season on the power play, giving the Thoroughbreds the dramatic 3-2 victory. Senior Jack McDonald picked up the victory, stopping 32 shots, including 16 in the third period and overtime.