MANCHESTER, N.H. – Freshman Alison Quinn (Canton, Mass.) scored a pair of second-period goals to lift the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team to Friday afternoon's 3-1 victory against the College of the Holy Cross at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks sweep the regular-season series from Holy Cross to improve to 18-3-0 on the season, including 11-2-0 in ECAC East play, while the Crusaders drop to 15-6-1, 9-3-1 ECAC East.
Saint Anselm drew first blood just 3:58 into the contest on a goal that was set up by some nifty hand-eye-coordination from junior Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.). Freshman Meaghan Spurling (Byfield, Mass.) took an initial shot from the left point that looked to be on an upward trajectory when Herron batted it out of the air from the left circle, deflecting the puck to the right side of the slot for freshman Alexandra Starzyk (Enfield, Conn.), who put the puck between the right post and the glove side of Holy Cross goaltender Krista Manzanares.
The Hawks wasted no time picking up where they left off in the second period as they took advantage of a Holy Cross turnover in its own defensive own just 38 seconds in. Senior Courtney Winters (Swampscott, Mass.) picked off a Crusaders' breakout pass in the high slot and dished to the left for Quinn, who glided in and beat Manzanares 5-hole near the left post. Winters was skating in the 100th game of her Saint Anselm career.
Quinn added another 5:28 later on the power play when she received a long pass into the neutral zone, skated up the right boards and sent a long shot from just inside the blue line that looked to be an easy save for Manzanares, but the puck somehow made it through her and into the back of the net for the 3-0 lead. Freshman goaltender Hannah Synnott (Monclair, N.J.) earned the first assist of her career with a secondary helper on the play.
Holy Cross then returned the favor as Emily Sullivan intercepted a clearing pass from the Hawks in their own zone and snapped off a low shot from the top of the left circle that beat Synnott to cut the deficit to 3-1 with 9:55 left in the middle frame.
Synnott made 16 saves, while Manzanares stopped 27 shots. The Hawks held a 30-17 advantage in shots, including 12-2 in the opening period, and were 1-for-5 on the power play, while the Crusaders were 0-for-2 with the extra skater.
The Hawks return to action Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. when they play host to Salve Regina University at Sullivan on Senior Day. 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.
