BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (February 15, 2025) – The Stonehill College women's hockey team secured a 1-0 victory in a shootout against New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) rival Saint Anselm College on Saturday afternoon at the Bridgewater Ice Arena. With the win, the Skyhawks improved to 12-16-5 overall and 12-9-5 in conference play, while the Hawks fell to 10-16-6 overall and 10-10-6 in league competition.

Highlights

• Junior Maddison Achtyl registered her fourth career and first two-goal game of the season for the Skyhawks.
• Graduate student Maeve Connolly and senior co-captain Josie Mendeszoon scored their respective fifth and second goals of the year.
• Stonehill's centers Connolly Mendeszoon, as well as juniors Kathryn Karo and Brianna Walkom, dominated the faceoff circle, winning a combined 51-of-71 total draws on the night.
• The junior trio of Karo, Sydney Russell, and Bailey Feeney as well as sophomore Peyton Wise tallied assists for the Skyhawks.
• First-year netminder Alexsa Caron earned the win in the shootout after holding the Hawk off the board in the skills competition.
• Caron finished the afternoon with 35 total saves in regulation and overtime, and she is now one save away from 1,000, at 999 total saves throughout the year.
• Junior Lily Geist matched the single-game program record with 11 shots on goal.
• Senior goaltender Annabella Lalande tallied a season-high 47 saves between the pipes for Saint Anselm.

How it Happened
Stonehill began the conference matchup with a strong offensive showing, registering eight shot attempts to Saint Anselm's four in the first six minutes of play on home ice. However, it was the Hawks who struck first, as senior Gracee Donovan capitalized on a pass from sophomore Hailey Tullo off the boards to score her 13th goal of the season at the 7:59 mark of the opening frame. This goal would be the first of two for Donovan on the afternoon.
 
After entering the intermission trailing 1-0, Stonehill quickly gained momentum, scoring three goals in the first eight minutes of the second period to take its first lead of the game. Just eight seconds into the period, Achtyl pounced on a rebound from a Wise shot from the far-side faceoff dot to even the score. She then netted her second goal of the period with a redirect on the power play at the 4:51 mark. Mendeszoon added to the Skyhawks' tally, scoring her second goal of the season on a shorthanded opportunity at the 7:46 mark, following a drop pass from Feeney.
 
Despite falling behind by two goals, Saint Anselm answered back. At the 17:13 mark of the second period, Donovan found the back of the net for her second goal of the game and 14th of the season, cutting the deficit to one. In the closing moments of the period, a five-minute major penalty called on first-year student Justice Ohlgren gave Stonehill a power-play opportunity. However, just 13 seconds before the period ended, junior Brooklyn Schneiderhan scored a short-handed goal, leveling the score at 3-3.
 
With the remainder of the five-minute power play carrying over into the third period, Stonehill looked poised to regain the lead, unleashing six shots on goal, five of which were on target, in the opening minute. However, Saint Anselm's defense held firm, successfully killing off the penalty and keeping the game tied.
 
At the 9:20 mark, Connolly intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, skated into the offensive zone, and fired a wrist shot through a defender's screen, beating Lalande for her fifth goal of the season to give Stonehill a 4-3 lead. Following Connolly's goal, both teams settled into a defensive battle, combining for just 10 shots over the next 10 minutes of play. However, with just 52 seconds remaining in regulation, first-year student Lucy DeCoteau scored her second goal of the weekend, sending the game into overtime with the score tied 4-4.
 
In overtime, Saint Anselm outshot Stonehill 9-4, but Caron and the Skyhawks defense remained resilient, making critical saves and key blocks, including two from Connolly, to force the game into a shootout. After a scoreless first two and a half rounds, first-year student Seina Spadone stepped up in the shootout, skating in on Lalande and sending a backhanded shot under the crossbar to secure the 1-0 shootout victory for Stonehill.

Up Next
Stonehill (12-16-5, 12-9-5 NEWHA) rounds out its 2024-25 regular season next weekend in a split home-and-home series with Assumption University. Puck drop from Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday is set for 2:50 PM, before the Skyhawks and Greyhounds wrap up their weekend set on Saturday at 1 PM.       
 
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