MANCHESTER, N.H. – Juniors Sarah Geisinger (Willoughby, Ohio) and Alex Kazmer (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and sophomore Alison Quinn (Canton, Mass.) each tallied a goal, but the Saint Anselm College women's hockey team couldn't hold off a hungry squad from College of the Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at Sullivan Arena, falling to the Crusaders 4-3 in overtime.
The loss drops Saint Anselm to 15-5-2 overall and 11-2-1 in ECAC East play while the Crusaders climbed to 14-6-3 overall and 10-3-2 in league action. The loss also snaps a nine-game unbeaten streak dating back to Jan. 10 for the Hawks.
Holy Cross opened the scoring with a Lauren Abbanante goal at the 5:16 mark of the first period. The Hawks would respond in the closing minutes of the first session, as sophomore Meaghan Spurling (Byfield, Mass.) found senior Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.) streaking through the zone. Herron's blast caromed of Crusader goaltender Alexandra Stevenson, but right to the stick of Geisinger who lifted it home to lock the game at 1-1 entering the first intermission.
Saint Anselm used the late-goal momentum early into the second period, as sophomore Martha Findley (Duxbury, Mass.) played the puck to the left circle to the stick of junior Halle Kent (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who rocketed a shot into traffic. The miss was deflected to the right post where Kazmer was positioned perfectly to break the tie at the 7:09 mark of the second period.
Holy Cross was whistled for a bench infraction with too many skaters on the ice with just under five minutes remaining in the period, setting up the first power play opportunity for Saint Ansem. The Hawks utilized the advantage fully as freshman Jackie Guy (Saint Louis, Mo.) played the puck down to Geisinger on the left side who sent it into the crease. Quinn found a touch that beat Stevenson on the left post to score her team-high 13th goal of the year and to put the Hawks up 3-1.
Unlike the last meeting between these two squads in which Saint Anselm dominated from start to finish in a 5-0 victory just two weeks ago, Holy Cross would simply refuse to go away. For the game, Saint Anselm outshot the Crusaders 24-15, but the pesky visitors cut the lead in half with Abbenante's late second-period goal, then tied it up midway through the third on a Nicole Giannino score to lock the game at three.
The two-goal flurry chased Saint Anselm starting goaltender Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn.) in favor of sophomore Hannah Synnott (Montclair, N.J.) for the remaining seven-plus minutes of the period and into the extra session.
Synnott would pick up a save on a Holy Cross breakaway, but a Hawk hooking penalty on a second opportunity sent Quinn into the penalty box. Just 20 seconds into the penalty, Kara Violette laced one into the back of the netting to secure a thrilling comeback road win for the Crusaders.
Synnott took the losing decision between the pipes, falling to 2-5-1 on the year and picking up one save. Brown added 10 saves on 13 Holy Cross shots while Stevenson locked down on the Hawks down the stretch with a 21-save game.
Saint Anselm will close out its regular season with a pair of league foes it hasn't seen yet this season. Friday the Hawks welcome Salve Regina to Sullivan Arena, then will play host to Manhattanville on Saturday afternoon. The Seahawks have won their last 10 conference games and moved into a tie with Saint Anselm after posting a pair of 4-0 wins this past weekend.
Former Saint Anselm College women's hockey alumnae were recognized during the first intermission of Saturday's game, including five current and former 100-point scorers and a trio of All-Americans. Men's hockey alumni and program founders were also honored on the afternoon, and the dedication of a rinkside bronze hawk statue highlighted a busy weekend at Sullivan Arena.
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