MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team picked up another non-league victory on Thursday, skating to a 4-3 win over visiting Brown University at Sullivan Arena.
The Hawks have posted back-to-back victories over ECAC Hockey opponents, edging Dartmouth by a 1-0 margin last time out on Sunday, Nov. 28. Saint Anselm improves to 6-10-1 overall on the year while Brown, who picked up a win and a tie over the Hawks during the 2019-20 campaign, falls to 1-11-2 on the season.
Senior captain Erin Meyers (Saint Paul, Minn.) led the way with two goals and an assist, setting up the game-winning goal by classmate Kelly Golini (Tewksbury, Mass.) with under 10 minutes to go in regulation. Sophomore Maddy McCaffery (Weymouth, Mass.) had a second period marker of her own, adding a team-best 12 wins on face-offs.
Junior Allie Kelley (East Berne, N.Y.) had another stellar performance in net for Saint Anselm, stopping 37 shots and making a game-high 14 saves in the third period. She extended her program record for saves in a season, notching 593 so far across her first 16 games on the Hilltop.
Freshman Tyra Turner (Andover, Minn.), who logged three assists in her first collegiate game at Saint Anselm, picked up two helpers in Thursday's win over Brown. Senior Kendra Currier (Middleton, Mass.) and freshman Madi Ressler (Brighton, Mich.) each had a team-leading three blocks on defense.
With 8:04 left in regulation and the score tied at three, the Hawks picked off a clearing attempt by the Bears and skated toward the left wing corner with the puck. In deep, Meyers was able to puck handle around a Brown defender and slide a pass across the slot to Golini, who fired the puck past netminder Kaley Doyle for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
After a scoreless first period, the Hawks scored twice to take a 2-0 lead. The first goal came after a Brown turnover on the goal line – attempting to clear the puck, Turner got a stick on the puck as it caromed toward net. The ensuing rebound spilled to Meyers near the right post and the senior did not miss, boosting the Hawks to a 1-0 lead with 12:36 left in the second stanza.
50 seconds later, the Hawks scored again as sophomore Brinna Martin (Saint Michael, Minn.) kept the puck in at the far-side blue line and tapped a pass over to McCaffery. Skating to the left face-off circle, she roofed the puck over the lunging Bears goaltender to push Saint Anselm ahead, 2-0.
Brown scored a late goal in the second period, halving the Hawks lead with 18 seconds left. Shay Maloney fired an initial shot on net, forcing Kelley to make a kick save, but she came out of the net to make the stop – this left a wide-open net for Maloney on the rebound, reducing the Saint Anselm lead heading into the second intermission.
Following a Saint Anselm penalty, a tough-angle shot from Meadow Carman tied the game at two just 3:23 into the third period. With heavy offensive pressure, the puck found its way to the far side of the ice. Just feet off the goal line below the left face-off circle, Carman's snipe found its way past Kelley, who attempted to close off the left post but could not cover the top-left corner.
Breaking up ice on a two-on-one, Meyers scored her second of the game with 11:27 to go to put the Hawks ahead, 3-2. Electing to keep the puck herself, she was able to skate toward the top of the blue paint and backhand the puck past the Brown backstop for her team-leading sixth goal of the season.
Not to be outdone, Brown once again brought the game even just 38 seconds later. Getting behind two Saint Anselm defenders on a breakaway, Madie Stockfish was able to push the puck past Kelley via the five hole to tie the game at three with 9:11 left in regulation time.
Brown had three goal scorers and seven student-athletes record at least one point. Doyle finished with 18 saves on 22 shots in defeat.
Saint Anselm will host the Hockey Training Institute (HTI) Stars on Sunday, Jan. 9 in exhibition play from Sullivan Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
