FAIRFIELD, Conn. — A four-goal onslaught in the second period saw the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team take game one of its weekend series against Saint Anselm, defeating the Hawks, 6-2, on Friday night at Martire Family Arena.
"It was awesome to see," said head coach Thomas O'Malley. "I just saw how we used each other and there were a lot of great passes and great finishes and that was because we used each other."
For the third-straight game, the Pios once came out with a blazing pace, pressuring the hawks into unforced turnovers in their own zone as the hosts spent the first four minutes on the attack. However, a keep in along the blueline by Saint Anselm saw them open the scoring just past the four minute mark as Brooklyn Schneiderhan weaved through the Pio defense, sending a wrist shot past Petruno and into the back of the net to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead early in the frame.
After the goal, the visitors found themselves on the power play after the Pios were the culprits of a duo of fouls in the middle part of the period. However, the Pioneer penalty kill continued its prowess since the turn of the calendar year, stopping both opportunities for Saint Anselm to keep it a one-goal game.
Late in the frame, the Pios stormed back, ending the period where they started, having earned three scoring chances in the final five minutes. The top line pairing of
Kate Helgeson,
Iyla Ryskamp and
Paige McNeil all had their chances stuffed in front by Saint Anselm's Courtney Stagman in the final minutes as the Hawks went into the first intermission with the lead, 1-0.
Both teams continued to battle through their stingy defense through a good portion of the middle frame just before the flood gates opened as an onslaught of five goals in the remaining 10 minutes of action broke the game open for the Red & White.
After a series of saves in the defensive zone, the Pios got on the board as McNeil sent a one-timer past Stagman as the Pios finished on a rush chance just past the 10 minute mark of the frame. McNeil who was streaking along the right wing, received a feed from
Kate Helgeson in the low-slot as the lefty knotted the game, 1-1.
Having gathered a glimpse of momentum, the Pios quickly pounced on the Hawks, forcing the visitors into a mistake in their defensive zone that led to the Pios first lead of the night. After keeping the puck along the blueline, a shot from
Olivia LaRoche deflected off a Saint Anselm player in front, right to the tape of Chaput who wired the puck into a yawning cage to give SHU a 2-1 lead just 25 seconds after tying the match.
The Pioneers continued mounting the pressure on the Hawks, resulting in the first power play for the home side with under eight to go in the middle period that the Pios cashed in on to extend the lead to two goals. After winning the ensuing draw after the penalty, McNeil nabbed her second of the night, tipping LaRoche's shot from the point past a screened Stagman eight seconds into the power play to give SHU the 3-1 lead.
However, the Pios gave the Hawks an opportunity to climb back into the match as
Julianna Koman was sent to the box for hooking with five minutes to go in the frame. Sensing a need for a goal, the Hawks delivered as Brinna Martin's shot from the point took a deflection off a SHU player in front, wobbling past Petruno as the Hawks scored 20 seconds into the power play to climb within one goal.
Following the Hawks late tally, the Pios responded with one of their own, restoring the two-goal lead two minutes later as Lupone bagged her fourth goal of the season, tipping in
Maddie Rinklin's wrist-shot from the point past Stagman to give SHU a 4-2 that the Pios took into the second intermission.
"It was awesome to see," said O'Malley. "We talk about having every line be a factor and that is what we showed tonight."
Looking to continue the scoring surge, the Pios once again drew a penalty due to their offensive pressure as SHU went back on the power play four minutes into the third period as the Hawks' Madi Ressler was sent to the box for tripping. With the first power-play unit having been snuffed, the secondary unit went to work, capitalizing off two-consecutive one-touch passes in the low slot as
Cassie Nevers scored her first of the frame, catapulting the home side to a 5-2 advantage early in the frame, as the Pios went two-for-two on the power play on the night.
SHU continued to dominate the frame as Nevers bagged her second of the frame six minutes later to push the Pio lead to four goals with under nine minutes to play. With
Peyton Bennetts keeping the puck along the blueline, Nevers received a pass from the first year from Michigan, skating into the high-slot and sending a wrist shot over the glove of relief netminder Annabella Lalande to give the Pios a 6-2 lead. SHU continued its onslaught through the remainder of the frame, outshooting the Hawks 16-11 in the frame as
Jillian Petruno racked up 33 saves as the Pios took game one of the weekend series, 6-2.
Top Performers:
Of Note:
- SHU's six goals is the most goals in a game this season and the most since a 6-4 win over Stonehill on November 12, 2022.
- McNeil's two goals in Friday's contest is her second multi-goal outing of the season after securing two goals in the 3-0 win over Post in December.
- Cassie Nevers' two-goal outing is her second multi-goal outing of the season after potting two goals in the 5-1 win over Saint Michael's on November 18.
- Bennetts' two assist night is her first multi-assist and multi-point game of her career. She has now accrued five points on the season with all of them coming as helpers.
- Petruno's 33 saves in the contest is the fifth time out of her last seven starts that she has made 30 or more saves in a game.
- Lupone's two points on the night is her third multi-point outing of the season after posting consecutive multi-point outings at the end of November. She now has two goals and an assist on her ledger in the past five games for the Pios.
- LaRoche's two assist performance in Friday's contest is her first collegiate multi-assist and multi-point outing.
Up Next:
The Pioneers are back in action on Saturday, January 13, to finish up the season series against the Hawks in conjunction with SHU women's hockey's alumni celebration. Puck drop from Martire Family Arena is slated for 2 p.m. More information will be available at sacredheartpioneers.com
