BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Courtney Winters (Swampscott, Mass.) recorded her first two goals of the season as the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team posted a 5-2 season-opening victory over the Pioneers of Sacred Heart University in a non-conference contest Saturday afternoon at the Wonderland of Ice. With the victory, the Hawks improve to 1-0 overall on the season while the Pioneers fall to 0-5 overall.
Kathryn Picarello (West Roxbury, Mass.) scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 5:47 of the third period. Winters and Michelle Lacombe (Delafield, Wisc.) posted assists on Picarello's game-winning marker.
Winters scored the first goal of the game at 10:45 of the first period on the power play. Sophomore Andi Foss (Elko, Minn.) and Ciara Petry (Poolesville, Md.) assisted on the first Saint Anselm goal of the season. Briana Connolly of the Pioneers countered with the first goal for either side of the second period, sending home a feed from both Maura Leahy and Alanna Woodford.
Aly Zappen (Huntington Beach, Calif.) scored an unassisted goal at 10:53 of the second period, temporarily placing Saint Anselm on top by a 2-1 margin, but Melissa Robbins of Sacred Heart evened the score at two apiece with 2:35 remaining in the period.
Exiting the second period with the score deadlocked at two, the Hawks scored three unanswered goals to secure their first victory of the season. After Picarello's tally to open the period, Winters recorded her second goal of the game, an unassisted marker, at 11:25 of the third period. Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.) sealed the victory with an empty-net goal at 19:21 of the third period.
Goaltender Amy Zappen (Huntington Beach, Calif.) collects her first victory of the season, turning aside 9-of-11 shots on goal in the contest. Alexius Schutt collected the loss despite making 42 saves on 46 shots on net.
The Hawks were 1-for-2 on the power play. Sacred Heart did not have a power play opportunity.
NOTABLES: Aly Zappen is riding a four-game goal scoring streak, having scored six goals for six points (6-0=6) dating back to last season…The Hawks have outshot their opponent in six straight contests…Tiffany Herron's empty net goal was the first of her collegiate career…Courtney Winters, Kathryn Picarello and Molly Corl led the team with a plus-3 rating…Winters now leads the team in points with three to her credit (2-1=3).
Saint Anselm returns to action Friday, Nov. 4 as they host Nichols College in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Sullivan Arena. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by friending us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
