BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (February 21, 2026) – The Stonehill College women's hockey team clinched home ice for the quarterfinal round of the NEWHA Postseason Tournament on Saturday afternoon with a 4–1 victory over conference foe Saint Michael's College. With the win, the Skyhawks closed out the regular season at 16–16–2 overall and 16–10–2 in conference play. The Purple Knights wrapped up their season at 1–31 overall and 1–27 in NEWHA action.

Following the regular season finale, Stonehill honored its 11 seniors and their families in a Senior Day ceremony. Recognized were Eve Stone, Hannah Squires, Brianna Walkom, Gracie Sacca, Sydney Russell, Maddi Achtyl, Lily Barrett, Lily Geist, Mia Kenmore, Lucie Turcotte, and Bailey Feeney.
 
Highlights

• Stonehill College outshot Saint Michael's College, 45–28, and controlled the faceoff circle, winning 28–13 against the Purple Knights.
• Sophomore Reagan Whynot, along with seniors Gracie Sacca and Sydney Russell, recorded multi-point performances to pace the Skyhawks' offensive effort.
• First-year Maddie Bibeau scored her fourth goal of the season, while senior Mia Kenmore and juniors Peyton Wise and Makenna Slocum each tallied assists.
• Senior Eve Stone secured her seventh win of the year, limiting Saint Michael's to one goal on 28 shots faced.

 
How It Happened
Following a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes that saw the Stonehill outshoot Saint Michael's, 17–7, the two sides skated into the first intermission locked in a scoreless tie.

Stonehill wasted little time breaking through in the second period. At the 3:16 mark, Whynot redirected a shot from below the goal line that deflected off Annika Lavender and into the net, tallying her ninth goal of the season to give the Skyhawks a 1–0 edge.

Just over five minutes later, at 8:15, Sacca forced a turnover in the Purple Knights' defensive zone and rifled a shot over Lavender's shoulder, netting what would stand as the game-winning goal and doubling the Stonehill advantage.

Saint Michael's pushed to respond after falling behind by two, but Stone stood tall between the pipes, turning aside 10 shots over the final 10 minutes of the period to preserve the 2–0 lead heading into the third.

After a back-and-forth start to the final frame, Audrey Hetman put the Purple Knights on the board at 9:54, trimming the deficit to one midway through the period.

Stonehill earned the game's first power-play opportunity of the afternoon at 17:29 of the third and capitalized quickly. Just 16 seconds into the advantage, at 17:45, Russell blasted home a shot from the point to extend the lead to 3–1. Only 24 seconds later, Bibeau added her fourth goal of the season to cap the scoring and secure the 4–1 victory, clinching home ice for the Skyhawks in the opening round of the playoffs.
 
Up Next
Stonehill College (16–16–2, 16–10–2 NEWHA) will open NEWHA postseason play next weekend with a best-of-three quarterfinal series against rival Long Island University starting on Friday at 5 p.m. inside the Bridgewater Ice Arena.

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