WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior Franny Nicholson (St. Paul, Minn.) and freshman Alexandra Starzyk (Enfield, Conn.) each recorded three points as the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team took down Saint Michael's College, 5-0, Saturday afternoon in the semifinal round of the ECAC Open Tournament held at Holy Cross' Hart Recreation Center.
With the win, Saint Anselm will bump to a 23-3-0 overall record, 14-2-0 in the ECAC Women's East, while the Purple Knights will drop to 3-19-3, 2-12-2 ECAC East. Saint Anselm will advance to the ECAC Open Championship against No. 2 seeded Holy Cross tomorrow evening at 5 p.m.
Both teams skated into the first break locked in a scoreless tie. Saint Anselm dominated play through most of the period, holding a 15-5 shot advantage in the opening frame. The Hawks were whistled for a pair of penalties, killing them both off, while going 0-for-1 on their own power play.
Saint Anselm opened the second period with a power-play goal just 1:42 into play. Freshman Alison Quinn (Canton, Mass.) passed the puck through the crease to Starzyk and she went top shelf on Saint Michael's goaltender Tina Frasca. Nicholson was also assisting on the first goal of the game.
The Hawks had a chance to make it 2-0 at the six minute mark when junior Sabrina Iannetti (Lynn, Mass.) sent a quick pass to freshman Alison Butler (Danvers, Mass.), but she shot just high and the puck ringed off the crossbar.
The score remained 1-0 into the second intermission, Hawks with an 18-1 edge in shots for the period.
Just 19 seconds into the final period, junior Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.) received a pass from Nicholson and sent a wrist shot from the left circle that found its way past Frasca for the 2-0 Saint Anselm lead. The goal was the Hawks' second power-play strike of the afternoon.
Freshman Meaghan Spurling (Byfield, Mass.) put the Hawks up 3-0 when she potted a power-play goal at 6:15 as she pushed in the puck from the top of the crease. Nicholson and Starzyk were both assisting on the Hawks' third goal of the game.
Saint Anselm notched its third goal of the period when Iannetti picked up a pass from sophomore Jessica Galiczewski (Kings Park, N.Y.) at 10:40 and found the back of the net. Starzyk was also assisting on the play – her second helper of the game.
Quinn made it a 5-0 game at 15:04 when she was dished a pass from sophomore Alex Kazmer (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and she chipped the puck between Frasca and the right post. Senior Courtney Winters (Swampscott, Mass.) picked up her team-high 19th assist of the season on the play.
Saint Anselm junior netminder Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn.) made 7 saves to earn the shutout for the Hawks, while Fresca stopped 39 of 44 shots on goal. Saint Anselm was an impressive 3-for-4 on the power-play, while Saint Michael's was 0-for-4 with the extra skater. Overall, Saint Anselm finished on top of 44-7 margin in shots on goal.
The Hawks return to action Feb. 23 when they challenge Holy Cross in the ECAC Open Championship contest at 5 p.m. 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.
