WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Head Coach Kerstin Matthews recorded her 100th career win as the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team rolled past NESCAC opponent Williams College, 6-3, Saturday afternoon at Lansing Chapman Rink.
With the win, Saint Anselm bumps to 10-1 overall, while the Ephs will descend to 3-5 for the 2013-14 season.
Matthews, who is in her sixth season as bench boss of the Hawks, becomes the first women's ice hockey coach to achieve the milestone since the programs establishment in 2004. In her five previous seasons, she has led her teams to winning seasons every year, including 20-win seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12. Last season, she was just shy of that mark with 19 victories. Saint Anselm begins its campaign at 10-1 with a 5-0 mark in the ECAC Women's East this season. The Hawks will look to capture their third straight ECAC Open title in February.
Saint Anselm struck for the 1-0 lead just 4:18 into the game on a power play when freshman Alexandra Starzyk (Enfield, Conn.) scored her third goal of the weekend, sixth of the season. Halle Kent (Lake Placid, N.Y.) dished the puck to Starzyk, from the right point, before Starzyk cut towards the middle from the right corner and sent the puck towards the net, which trickled through the pads of Williams goaltender Margaret Draper.
The Hawks pushed ahead 2-0 as freshman Alison Butler (Danvers, Mass.) pulled the puck out of the Saint Anselm zone and sent it up ice to junior Sabrina Iannetti (Lynn, Mass.). Iannetti skated coast-to-coast and flipped a backhanded shot over the shoulder of Draper at 11:16.
Freshman Alison Quinn (Canton, Mass.) put the Hawks up 3-0 when she skated around a pair of Eph defenders and went top shelf on Draper. Sophomore Sarah Geisinger (Willoughby, Ohio) picked up the puck out of a jam and sent it to Quinn, who carried it to the net from the far blue line.
Williams earned one back just nine seconds later as it started a rush off the center-ice faceoff and the Ephs potted their first goal of the game at 17:54. The score remained 3-1 heading into the locker room after the first.
Saint Anselm opened scoring in the second period with a goal at 6:20, just after burning off a Williams power play. Starzyk started the play as she passed the puck from the right corner up to senior Andi Foss (Elko, Minn.) at the right point. Foss drove from the point and her shot was tipped in at the left post by junior Tiffany Herron (Commerce Township, Mich.).
Just 59 seconds later, Butler scored her second of the day as she stole the puck from an Eph defender and quickly skated to the net, flipping the puck over the glove of a lunging Draper.
Williams had the answer to Butler's goal less than two minutes later when Cristina Bravi connected with Michaela Levine, cutting the deficit to three, 5-2.
After a quiet third period, Emily Krueger and Levine connected, at 16:02 of the final frame when Levine sent a pass from behind the net to Krueger out front.
The Hawks had the answer, however, 17 seconds later when Quinn collected the puck off the faceoff and passed it up ice to sophomore Alex Kazmer (Crystal Lake, Ill.), who dished off a quick pass to classmate Nina Gozzi (Suffield, Conn.). Gozzi skated down the left side and slapped the puck from the left circle into the upper-right corner of the net.
The Hawks burned off a trio of power-play opportunities for the Ephs, including a five-minute major, in the second period, holding them to 0-for-3 with the extra skater on the day, while the Hawks were 1-for-2 with Starzyk's power-play goal.
Saint Anselm freshman goaltender Hannah Synnott (Montclair, N.J.) made 20 saves, while Draper made 16 stops. Williams held the 23-22 edge in shots on goal.
The Hawks will return to action Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. when they play host to Franklin Pierce at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
