WINCHENDON, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team fell by a 1-0 score to Franklin Pierce University in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance Championship game on Saturday.

The Hawks see their historic season come to a close at 16-13-3. The Ravens improve to 22-9-1 on the season and capture their first NEWHA championship.

Saint Anselm played its first season exclusively against National Collegiate level competition and posted wins over programs that call Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, and the NEWHA home. In its first game of the year, Saint Anselm posted its first ever non-conference Division I victory with a 3-2 win over the University of Maine on Oct. 2. Under first-year head coach, Jen Kindret, the Hawks qualified for their fourth consecutive NEWHA Championship Game appearance and hit the 16-win mark for the 11th consecutive season of competition.

Junior netminder Allie Kelley (East Berne, N.Y.) made 51 saves for the Hawks, finishing her first season on the Hilltop with 1,040 saves. She becomes the first Saint Anselm student-athlete, male or female, to eclipse the 1,000 save mark in a single season. Kelley also sets the Hawks single season record for saves per game at 34.67. Kelley concludes the season with a 2.28 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.

Seniors Kelly Golini (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Erin Meyers (St. Paul, Minn.) closed the season tied for the team lead 30 points while freshman Tyra Turner (Andover, Minn.) concluded her first season ina  Hawks sweater with 28 points. The last time Saint Anselm had three student-athletes hit at least 28 points in a season came during the 2016-17 campaign. Golini and Meyers were named to NEWHA All-Tournament team.

Franklin Pierce jumped on the board first with a power play tally from Ava Kison. Kison netted a rebound chance off a point shot by Stefanie Caban. Kison's 12th goal of the season came at 8:42 mark of the opening period.

Saint Anselm had a great scoring opportunity at 12:58 of the first period when Golini sent a pass to Meyers in the left corner. Golini went to the slot and one-timed the give-and-go pass from Meyers but Suzette Faucher turned the shot attempt aside.

Sophomore Claire Weber (Marshfield, Mass.) registered the best Hawks scoring chance in the second period. She drove into the attacking zone in a one-on-one with a Ravens defender and made a move to her left, creating space in the middle of the slot. She fired a shot that went back across her body, intended for the right post but the shot attempt was kicked away by Faucher.

In the opening minutes of the third period, the Ravens fired six shots on Kelley with the junior goaltender stopping five of the shots on goal while the Hawks defense blocked one shot.

The Ravens upped the pressure following a Hawks timeout with 2:11 remaining in regulation, not allowing the Hawks to pull Kelley until there was 13 seconds remaining in the period. Franklin Pierce won the ensuing faceoff but the Hawks got to the loose puck. Sophomore Brinna Martin (St. Michael, Minn.) managed to get a shot away with five seconds on the clock but the Ravens defense turned aside the shot
attempt, preserving the one-goal lead and making Franklin Pierce the 2021-22 NEWHA Champions.

In the contest, Saint Anselm was scoreless in five power play chances while Franklin Pierce was one-for-four with the extra skater. The Ravens held a 52 to 26 shots on goal advantage in the win.