BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — Grayson Limke and
Julianna Koman provided the offensive spark as the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team concluded its regular-season series against Stonehill College, battling the Skyhawks to a 2-2 tie on Saturday afternoon.
Having played a full complement of 65 minutes the day before, both teams continued following the script they wrote in the series-opener, battling to scoreless draw after the first 20 minutes of action. Both starting netminders pitched first-period shutouts with Stonehill's Eve Stone earning eight saves while SHU's
Jillian Petruno nabbed 13 in the opening stanza.
In the second period, the Pioneers had their best opportunities to crack open the scoring, earning two-consecutive power plays in the first five minutes of the frame but could not convert as the Skyhawk penalty kill stood strong. On the other end, Stonehill's two opportunities on the job were successfully dealt with by the Pios as the game entered the third period stilled tied, 0-0.
With the script having been written the night before, the teams combined to light the lamp four times in the remaining 20 minutes of play to break open the scoring. After pressing the issue for more than two periods, the hosts jumped on the board early in the frame as Maeve Carey's shot from the point beat Petruno to put the home side up 1-0 just under four minutes into the third period.
However, the Pios evened things up 20 seconds later as
Grayson Limke potted her fourth goal of the campaign. With a
Cassie Nevers shot having been failed to be dealt with, Limke tracked down the loose puck and fired it past Stone to give the Pioneer first year her second goal of the weekend.
SHU continued to press into the third period with the newfound momentum, finding a way to get back on the power play as the period approached the halfway mark. With the Pioneers on the two-person advantage, SHU took control in the offensive zone and eventually found the game-leading goal as
Julianna Koman's one-timer off of a
Sophie Lupone pass eked past Stone to give SHU a 2-1 lead with 11 minutes remaining.
However, in short order, the Skyhawks tied the match as Alexis Petford tallied her third goal of the weekend. Petford, who intercepted the puck off a SHU defender in its defensive zone, made a few moves toward the SHU net and finished off a tough play in front on her third shot in quick succession to level the game, 2-2.
Following the quick barrage of goals, both teams looked for what would be the game-winner, but both goalies held strong to push the game to overtime. In the extra period, Petruno made the lone three saves of the frame as the game ended in a 2-2 tie.
Top Performers:
Up Next:
The Pios are back in action next weekend on February 2-3, hosting Saint Michael's College at Martire Family Arena for a two-game slate. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. on both days. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.
