SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team blanked the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College in the first installment of the two-game New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) series on Friday night by a final score of 2-0.
UP NEXT:
- The Hawks play Saint Michael's on Saturday, February 10 for the series finale at 4:00 p.m. from the Cairns Arena.
Score: Saint Anselm 2, Saint Michael's 0
Records: Saint Anselm 17-12-1 (17-7-1 NEWHA), Saint Micahel's 0-30-1 (0-24-1 NEWHA)
Location: South Burlington, Vt. (Cairns Arena)
Date: Friday, February 9, 2024
Attendance: 124
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In the opening seconds of the first period, Mikaela Langbacka fired a shot on target that freshman goalie Courtney Stagman (Andover, Minn.) saved. Junior Heather McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.) ripped the first shot of the game for Saint Anselm which was blocked by Gaby Tribelli.
- Both teams continued to exchange shots with each side posting 12 shot attempts apiece approaching the midway point of the period. At the 14:44 mark, the Hawks earned the first power play of the night after Isabel Goolie was whistled for tripping. Senior Brinna Martin (St. Michael, Minn.) capitalized for Saint Anselm with a wrist shot into the back of the net to put the Hawks ahead 1-0 by the end of the first period.
- Saint Michael's started the second period by outshooting Saint Anselm by a 9-3 margin in the opening five minutes with Stagman producing three saves. The Hawks responded by stringing together five shots leading to a senior Claire Weber ( ) score at the 8:29 mark with classmates Natalie Tulchinsky (Clifton Park, N.Y.) and Savannah Popick (South Windsor, Conn.) each credited with an assist. The Purple Knights registered 13 shots for the remainder of the period but the Hawks held their 2-0 lead heading into the final period.
- Senior Abigail Blair (Grand Island, N.Y.) posted a block followed by three more stops from Stagman to begin the third period. Junior Audrey Jackson (Shoreview, Minn.) fired back-to-back shots on frame that Saint Michael's goalie Annika Lavender saved.
- Nearing the halfway point of the period, the Hawks connected six shot attempts, five of which Lavender stopped, just before the final media timeout. In the final minute of the game, Saint Anselm was short-handed however the Purple Knights only tallied one shot that Popick blocked to preserve the shutout win by a final score of 2-0.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm outshot Saint Michael's 37-27 and held a 22-11 advantage in total blocked shots in the game with freshman Julianna Herman (Andover, Minn.) posting a season-high five blocks.
- The Hawks also were favored from the faceoff dot winning 35-of-50 draws in the contest. Senior Maddy McCaffery (Weymouth, Mass.) led the team after winning 12-of-15 faceoffs.
- Saint Anselm went 1-for-1 with the extra skater and killed both Saint Michael's power plays in the game after preventing the Purple Knights from getting any shots on goal.
- Martin scored her sixth goal of the season, as well as her fifth power-play goal, while Weber tallied her eighth score. Freshman Hailey Tullo (Southwick, Mass.) recorded a pair of assists in the game, her first collegiate two-assist game, while Tulchinsky and Jackson each posted an assist apiece.
- Stagman earned her second career shutout after making 27 saves between the pipes for Saint Anselm to improve her record to 11-9-1 on the season.
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