SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team skated to a 4-2 win over Saint Michael's College in New England Women's Hockey Alliance play on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 9-8-1 on the season with a 9-3-1 record in NEWHA contests. The Purple Knights drop to 1-10-1 overall and 1-8-1 in league tilts. The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 26 when they welcome Dartmouth College to the Hilltop in the first leg of a non-conference home-and-home series with the Big Green.

Sophomores Audrey Jackson (Shoreview, Minn.), Heather McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.), and Gracee Donovan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) and junior Natalie Tulchinsky (Clifton Park, N.Y.) netted one goal each in the contest. Tulchinsky added an assist in the tilt to tie her for a game-high with two points.

Jackson opened the scoring at 9:16 of the first period. Jackson got the play started by forcing a turnover in the neutral zone with Tulchinsky collecting the loose puck. She would drive into the attacking end and send a pass toward the front of the net where Jackson would redirect the puck into the back of the goal, giving the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

With less than 10 second remaining in the first period, McAvoy managed to keep a clear attempt from Saint Michael's in the offensive zone. The sophomore slapped a shot that beat Purple Knights goaltender Carissa Mudrak, marking the first collegiate goal for McAvoy. That extended the Hawks lead to 2-0 through the opening 20 minutes of play.

Donovan netted a power play goal at 12:15 of the second stanza to give Saint Anselm a 3-0 lead. Classmate Madi Ressler (Brighton, Mich.) drove through the neutral zone and sent a pass to the slot for Donovan who one-timed home her third goal of the season.

Saint Michael's jumped on the scoreboard at 14:52 of the second when Maeghan Kennard managed to finish off a deflected puck from the doorstep, beating sophomore net minder Annabella Lalande (Plantagenet, Ontario) on the right side of the goal.

The Purple Knights cut the Hawks lead to one just 27 seconds into the third frame on a goal by Mikaela Langbacka. Langbacka drove through the right faceoff circle and lifted a shot into the top of the goal to push the score to 3-2.

Tulchinsky would give the Hawks a 4-2 lead at 3:44 of the final period with a shorthanded goal, marking her league-leading 12th of the season. Graduate student Kelly Golini (Tewksbury, Mass.) sent a feed for Tulchinsky who redirected the pass into the twine.

Saint Anselm held a 47-16 edge in shots on goal on Saturday and held a 39-37 edge in faceoff wins. In the contest, the Hawks were one-for-five with the extra skater while the Purple Knights were scoreless in seven-power play opportunities.

Lalande earned her second career win after making 14 saves in the Saint Anselm goal while Mudrak turned aside 43 shots on goal for the Purple Knights.