BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team fell to the Skyhawks of Stonehill College, 4-1, on Friday evening in the conference road game of the regular season. The Hawks dropped to 18-8-1 in New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) play while the Skyhawks improved to a 16-9-2 league record with the victory.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns to the Hilltop for Senior Day on Saturday, February 17 against Stonehill. The series finale match-up is set for a 3:00 p.m. puck drop from the Sullivan Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 1, Stonehill 4
Records: Saint Anselm 18-13-1 (18-8-1 NEWHA), Stonehill 16-15-2 (16-9-2 NEWHA)
Location: Bridgewater, Mass. (Bridgewater Ice Arena)
Date: Friday, February 16, 2024
Attendance: 167
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Senior Natalie Tulchinsky (Clifton Park, N.Y.) blocked the opening shot of the game to deny a chance from Pusle Drying-Anderson in the first minute of play. Shortly after, freshman goalie Courtney Stagman (Andover, Minn.), making her 23rd start in net for Saint Anselm, registered her first save of the evening at the 1:27 mark. Junior Tyra Turner (Andover, Minn.) fired the first shot on target for the Hawks to force a save from Stonehill goalie Eve Stone.
- Freshman Hailey Tullo (Southwick, Mass.) netted her second career goal at the 4:57 mark with Tulchinsky and senior Claire Weber (Marshfield, Mass.) picking up the assists to give the Hawks an early 1-0 edge in the game. The Skyhawks responded with a flurry of shots with Stagman making seven saves and junior Madi Ressler (Brighton, Mich.), senior Brinna Martin (St. Michael, Minn.), and senior Abigail Blair (Grand Island, N.Y.) each posting a block.
- Stonehill earned the first power play chance of the game late in the period producing two shots, one saved by Stagman and a block by senior Savannah Popick (South Windsor, Conn.), to keep Saint Anselm in the lead at the end of the first.
- The Hawks fended off Stonehill's power play to begin the second period of the game. The Skyhawks continued to push their attack and eventually broke through at the 5:30 mark with a score by Maddison Achtyl to tie the game up at 1-1. Both teams exchanged shots until Stonehill answered with just under five minutes left after Kathryn Karo scored to give the Skyhawks the 2-1 advantage heading into the break.
- After Stagman saved a shot attempt from Drying-Anderson, Karo placed the puck into the back of the net for her second score of the game to put Stonehill ahead 3-1 early in the third period. The Stonehill had the man advantage at the 6:37 mark recording three shots before Saint Anselm was called for a second penalty going down another skater.
- Saint Anselm killed both power plays with Stagman making four saves approaching the midway point of the final period. The Hawks continued to battle producing three shots on frame with less than five minutes left in the game, but the Skyhawks would seal their victory with an empty net goal by Peyton Wise to win 4-1.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Stonehill outshot Saint Anselm 31-27 and held a slight edge in shots on target by a 27-26 margin.
- The Hawks produced 17 blocks in the game in comparison to the Skyhawks with eight blocks. Junior Heather McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.) led the team with four blocks to match her career-high.
- From the faceoff dot, the Skyhawks won 30-of-56 draws while the Hawks tallied 26 faceoff wins. Tulchinsky won a team-high 14-of-26 faceoffs in the game.
- Saint Anselm successfully killed all three of Stonehill's power play chances limiting their opponents to five total shots combined. The Hawks however were unable to tally a shot in their one power play late in the third period.
- Tullo netted the lone goal for the Hawks, her second career score, with Tulchinsky and Weber each notching an assist.
- Stagman posted 27 saves between the pipes, including 14 in the first period, and allowed three goals.
- This marked the eighth meeting between the two programs with Saint Anselm now leading by a 5-3 record in the all-time series.
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