WINCHENDON, Mass. – The No. 3 seed Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team is headed to its fourth New England Women's Hockey Alliance Championship game after downing the second-seeded Long Island University on Friday by a 3-1 score.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 16-12-3 on the season while the Sharks see their season come to a close at 17-15-3. Saint Anselm has recorded at least 16 wins in a single season for the 11th consecutive season.

Saint Anselm will face top-seeded Franklin Pierce University from the Jason Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon, Mass. on Saturday, Mar. 5. The opening puck drop in the NEWHA Championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Freshman Audrey Jackson (Shoreview, Minn.) and seniors Kelly Golini (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Erin Meyers (Saint Paul, Minn.) netted the Hawks goals in the win. Golini and Meyers registered an assist in the contest and now have 30 points each on the season.

Junior goaltender Allie Kelley (East Berne, N.Y.) stopped 44 of 45 shots on goal for the Hawks and now needs 11 saves to reach the 1,000 save mark in her first season in a Hawks sweater.

The Hawks opened the scoring at 3:24 of the first period as Jackson cashed in on a feed from sophomore Maddy McCaffery (Weymouth, Mass.). For Jackson, that is her fifth tally of the season as she beat Sharks goaltender Tindra Holm, who was sliding to her right across the goal.

Carrigan Umpherville nearly tied the contest at 13:24 of the period in a near breakaway. She fired a shot that beat Kelley but the shot rang off the crossbar.

The Sharks upped the pace in the second period, holding a 14-9 shots on goal advantage but it was the Hawks who would find the back of the net as Golini scored her 14th goal of the season with 46 seconds left in the period. Golini won a defensive zone faceoff back to sophomore Brinna Martin (St. Michael, Minn.) who wrapped the puck through the defensive end and to the neutral zone for Meyers. The senior captain found a streaking Golini who found space at the left circle and fired a wrist shot by Holm and into the upper right corner of the goal.

Saint Anselm added to its lead just 2:30 into the third period as Meyers drove into the attacking zone in a one-on-one. The senior looked to pass but stopped in the left circle and fired a delayed shot that beat Holm to give the Hawks a 3-0 advantage.

LIU would get on the board at 17:47 of the third period as Alva Johnson netted a rebound goal off shot attempts from Maggie Culp and Megan Bouveur with the goaltender pulled.

With time winding down, the Hawks defense allowed just three shot attempts from the Sharks with two of them reaching Kelley.

Both teams were scoreless in four power play chances. LIU put 45 shots on goal compared to 29 for Saint Anselm. The Sharks won 44 of the game's 72 faceoffs with Bouveur winning 24 draws. Golini led the Hawks with 12 faceoff wins.

Kelley stopped 19 shots on goal in the third period, posting at least 12 in each frame on her way to 44 saves in the tilt. Holm stopped 26 of the Hawks' 29 shots on goal for the Sharks.