BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The No. 5 seed Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team scored the first and last two goals on their way to a 4-2 win over No. 4 seed Stonehill in Game Three of their New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) Quarterfinal series on Sunday night. The Hawks won back-to-back "win-or-go-home" games on Saturday and Sunday to punch their ticket to next week's Semifinals.
UP NEXT:
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No. 5 seed Saint Anselm will travel to take on No. 2 seed Sacred Heart in the NEWHA Semifinals. The single elimination game takes place on Wednesday, March 5th at 7:00 p.m. in the Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Conn.
Score: Saint Anselm 4, Stonehill 2
Records: Saint Anselm (12-18-7); Stonehill (14-19-5)
Location: Bridgewater, Mass. (Bridgewater Ice Arena)
Date: Sunday, March 2nd, 2025
Attendance: 137
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Stonehill got the first look of the game just seven seconds in with a shot by Sarah Taylor being saved by junior goaltender Ava Hills (Pembroke, N.H.).
- The shots continued to pour in for the Skyhawks over the next couple of minutes. One sequence featured Hills making three saves in under five seconds, including a clean gather of a one-timer in the slot by Mia Kenmore.
- With just under 12 minutes to play in the first period, junior Mackenzie Moss (Victoria, Minn.) intercepted a pass in the attacking zone for Saint Anselm. She then fired a shot above Alexsa Caron's glove and into the top right corner of the net for the game's first goal.
- Over the next few minutes, both teams had opportunities on the power play, but neither side was able to generate a shot during their respective 5-on-4 advantages.
- Both teams also had chances to close out the first period with goals, but a save by Hills and three saves by Caron kept the score at 1-0 heading into the first intermission.
- The Skyhawks got their second power play of the game early in the second period, but it was the short-handed Hawks who generated the offense. Freshman Nicola Forth (Schwenksville, Pa.) stole the puck in neutral ice, carried it past the blue line, and fired a perfect cross-ice pass to junior Brooklyn Schneiderhan (Helena, Mont.), who fired into the open left side of the net to give Saint Anselm a 2-0 lead.
- Stonehill kept the pressure mounting with 12 shots on goal over the next 12 minutes before finally finding the back of the net off the stick of Maddison Achtyl, who gathered and buried a tough shot from the left faceoff circle that made it 2-1.
- The re-energized Skyhawks were able to equalize just two minutes later, as a high shot resulted in a rebound that Achtyl fired five-hole for her second goal of the game in as many minutes. This was the final tally of the period as the score was tied at 2-2 heading into the third.
- Early in the third period, sophomore Hailey Tullo (Southwick, Mass.) gathered the puck in her own zone and launched a high pass down the ice to senior Gracee Donovan (Orchard Park, N.Y.). Donovan was able to gather the pass and finish the one-on-one with a perfect shot into the bottom left corner to give the Hawks a 3-2 advantage.
- With under three minutes left in the game, Schneiderhan found senior captain Heather McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.) with a pass from behind the net. McAvoy deked out the goaltender and freed herself for the game's final goal.
- Down by two, Stonehill pulled Caron for the extra skater, but they were unable to find a shot as Saint Anselm finished out the series-deciding win with a score of 4-2.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Stonehill held a 46-33 edge over Saint Anselm in shots on goal. Schneiderhan led all skaters with seven shots on goal. Lily Geist finished with six shots on goal to lead the Skyhawks.
- Saint Anselm got out to a 2-0 lead to start the game before two Stonehill goals tied it late in the second period. However, the third period was all Hawks as they scored two goals to start and end the period.
- Stonehill had firm control of the faceoff battle, winning 53 of the game's 76 faceoffs (69.7 percent). Kathryn Karo led the Skyhawks by going 31 of 38 in the faceoff circle (81.6 percent). Freshman Lucy DeCoteau (Canton, N.Y.) won 10 out of 26 draws (38.5 percent) to lead the Hawks.
- On the defensive side, Stonehill blocked 11 shots in the contest, while Saint Anselm blocked nine shots. Stonehill's Sydney Russell led all players with four blocks.
- Both teams had three chances on the power play, but neither converted as they combined to go 0-6 with 10 shots on goal.
- Saint Anselm scored a short-handed goal, their second of the season and first since they also did it against Stonehill on February 15th.
- Schneiderhan scored the short-handed goal for the Hawks and had an assist. The alternate captain had the team's other short-handed goal this season as well and is now up to four career goals while down a player. Schneiderhan scored in every game of the series and had five points across the three games, which led all skaters.
- Moss scored the game's opening goal, which was the first of her career. Donovan and McAvoy also scored for Saint Anselm.
- Achtyl scored both goals in the game for Stonehill with three players picking up assists.
- Hills made 44 saves in goal for the Hawks and earned her sixth win of the season. Caron made 29 stops in goal for the Skyhawks and took the loss.
- This marked the 17th all-time meeting between Saint Anselm and Stonehill. The Hawks improved to 8-6-3 in the series that began in 2022.
- The Hawks also improve to 3-0 all-time in Game Three of the NEWHA First Round. Saint Anselm has never lost a NEWHA First Round matchup, whether single elimination or best-of-three series.
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