WINCHENDON, Mass. – Sophomore Kaitlyn Spillane (Franklin, Mass.) erased an early deficit midway through the opening frame and junior Alison Butler (Danvers, Mass.) potted the eventual game-winner as the Saint Anselm College women's hockey team opened its season with an important road victory over league-rival Franklin Pierce University Friday night at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena, 2-1.
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
• Spillane scored Saint Anselm's first goal of the 2015-16 campaign, also the eighth of her career.
• Friday's game-winner was the first in Butler's career and her 18th goal overall.
• Freshman Sara McNamara (Danbury, Conn.) picked up the assist on Spillane's tally, while junior Martha Findley (Duxbury, Mass.) and sophomore Samantha Boyer (Saint Paul, Minn.) tallied assists on Butler's second-period goal.
• Junior Hannah Synnott (Montclair, N.J.) recorded 14 saves on the night, picking up the winning decision and improving to 14-5-1 in her career.
For the Ravens…
• Michelle Holmes put away a power play goal to take the early lead off assists from Alex Brolsma and Marisa Ketterman.
• Shannon O'Neil recorded a game-high 24 saves, falling to 1-1 on the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Two early penalties within 20 seconds of one another proved costly for Saint Anselm, as FPU's Holmes finished from the left circle through traffic on a 5-on-3 to take the lead just after the four-minute mark of the first period.
• The Hawks responded by collecting a turnover on the left side of the sheet, with Spillane receiving a drop from McNamara and sniping home the equalizer from the middle of the left circle at the 9:26 mark of the first half, taking a 1-1 tie into the first intermission.
• Butler then rang the game-winner off the pipe from the bottom of the left circle, beating O'Neil at the 15:59 mark of the second half.
• The Hawks would give up eight Raven shots in the third period alone—one more than they had all game—but Synnott was stout defensively and preserved the one-goal victory.
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
• Saint Anselm went 0-for-2 on its power play opportunities, while the Ravens went 1-for-6, converting on the 5-on-3 advantage.
• The Hawks outshot Franklin Pierce, 26-15.
NOTES
• Saint Anselm improves to 7-0 all-time against Franklin Pierce, which is in its fourth year as a program.
• The Hawks also remain unbeaten at 11-0 in season-openers.
UP NEXT
• Saint Anselm will finish up its road-opening weekend with a Saturday afternoon matchup against league foe Saint Michael's College, slated for a 1 p.m. start in Colchester, Vt.
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