MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Meaghan Spurling (Byfield, Mass.) scored her first career goal and added three assists to lead the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team to Friday evening's 7-0 blanking of Saint Michael's College at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks win their third straight to climb to 15-2-0 on the season, including 8-1-0 in ECAC East play, while the Purple Knights fall to 1-13-2, 0-8-1 ECAC East.
Nine different Saint Anselm skaters recorded a point, while six of those produced a multiple-point effort, including juniors Sabrina Iannetti (Lynn, Mass.) and Franny Nicholson (St. Paul, Minn.), who each tallied a goal and two assists.
Saint Anselm broke through just 5:06 into the contest when freshman Alison Butler (Danvers, Mass.) cleaned up a loose puck in front of the Saint Michael's net to make it 1-0. Junior Robin Yoshida (Los Alamos, New Mexico) picked up the puck in the left corner and skated to the near circle where she fired a shot that was saved by Saint Michael's goaltender Abby Burke. The rebound came to Iannetti, who slid the puck underneath Burke before Butler quickly guided it into the back of the net.
The Hawks added to their lead 1:21 later as Nicholson's shot from the right point was re-directed in at the near post by sophomore Alex Kazmer (Crystal Lake, Ill.). Spurling was credited with a secondary assist on the play.
Iannetti potted a goal of her own with 2:53 left in the first period to extend the lead to 3-0 as she skated into the high slot and sent a wrister toward the top-right corner of the net that ricocheted off the crossbar and in.
Spurling's first career goal came on the power play 4:55 into the middle stanza when junior Tiffany Herron (Commerce Township, Mich.) launched a pass from the left circle to the right circle where Spurling one-timed the puck just inside the near post. Nicholson earned a secondary assist on the 4-0 tally.
Nicholson then added her own power-play score at the 13:44 mark of the second as she teed up a drive from the top of the slot that maneuvered its way through traffic and into the right side of the net to make it 5-0 and chase Burke from the game. Spurling and Iannetti set up the play to collect assists.
The game stayed that way until late in the third period when the Hawks again struck on the power play – this one a 5-on-3 – with 4:48 remaining. Spurling connected on a pass from the bottom of the left circle to the right point for Herron, who sent a blast through a scrum in front that stretched the lead to 6-0.
Kazmer's second of the night just 56 seconds later closed the scoring as she followed up a rebound off a shot from senior Andi Foss (Elko, Minn.) at the left circle and jammed it past Meaghan Leong at the left post for another 5-on-3 score.
Freshman Hannah Synnott (Montclair, N.J.) stopped 14 shots for the Hawks, while Burke made 17 saves in 33:44 of action. Leong relinquished the final two goals and stopped 13 shots in 26:16. Saint Anselm was 4-for-6 with the extra skater, while Saint Michael's came up empty on four power-play tries, including a 5-on-3.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. when they play host to fourth-ranked Norwich University at Sullivan. 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
