Manchester, N.H. (November 16) -- The Saint Anselm women's hockey team fought off a late charge from Holy Cross, defeating the Crusaders 3-2 on Friday night at Sullivan Arena. The Hawks used goals from three different scorers to lead them to victory.

The Hawks jumped on the scoreboard first, as Arianna Rigano (Malden, Mass.) buried a pass from Bianca DeSantis (Georgetown, Mass.) at the 11:23 mark in the first period. The Hawks appeared in control at the conclusion of the first period, outshooting the Crusaders 8-1.

The Crusaders became more physical in the second period and the Hawks spent much of the time of the second period on defense. Freshman goaltender Carley Berry (Danvers, Mass.) was poised in the net, making a handful of quality saves in the second period.

The Hawks took advantage of a Holy Cross penalty late in the period, as Arden Lyons (Westford, Mass.) made a beautiful pass from the blue line to Cindy Lebel (Greenville, Maine) and Lebel scored the power play goal with just one tick left on the clock at the 19:59 mark. The goal sent the Hawks into second intermission with a 2-0 lead.

The Crusaders got on the board in the third period. Samantha Rush (Wakefield, Mass.) scored a power play goal at the 9:20 mark, assisted by Jocelyn Kratchmer (Watrous, Saskatchewan). The Hawks made the score 3-1 at the 12:24 mark when Arden Lyons scored a power play goal, assisted by Maggie Dwyer (Elkridge, Md.). The Crusaders added another goal at the 16:09 mark, as Lisa Wilson (Corunnda, Ont.) scored, assisted by Stephanie Couzin (Chicago, Ill.) and Emily Henry(Lumsden, Canada). The game ended 3-2 in favor of the Hawks.

The Hawks improve to 2-0-0, 2-0-0 ECAC East. The Crusaders drop to 1-1-1 overall, 0-1-0 ECAC East. Berry made 11 saves in her first collegiate win, while Monique Gallant (Antigonish, Nova Scotia) made 22 saves in the loss for Holy Cross.

The Hawks return to the ice tomorrow hosting No. 9 Manhattanville at Sullivan Arena at 3 p.m.