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Petford |
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Russell |
EASTON, Mass. (February 2, 2023)- Stonehill College women's ice hockey freshmen, Alexis Petford and Sydney Russell were named two of 28 Hockey Commissioners Association finalists who will vie for the title of 2023 HCA Rookie of the Year. Petford and Russell are just two of five representatives from the New England Women's Hockey Alliance and just one of seven schools to have more than one nominee.
At season's end, a ballot consisting of each Division I conference's Rookie of the Year will be presented to the assistant coaches and they will vote, one vote per school, to identify the winner. This year's National Rookie of the Year will be announced during the Frozen Four in Duluth in March.
Petford has been having an outstanding season for the Skyhawks as the freshman forward has received numerous NEWHA accolades including Player of The Week twice, and Rookie of the Week twice. She is just one of three student-athletes in the NEWHA to win Player of the Week multiple times. Petford is also familiar with the HCA as she has been named to the HCA Honor Roll for two months.
Overall on the year, Petford leads the team and NEWHA in goals with 21 and is also tied for first in the country in the same category. Petford also leads all freshmen in the country in goals and is just one of five freshmen ranked in the top 40. In the NEWHA, Petford leads multiple categories including points (33) and plus/minus (+22), and is a top-10 leader in assists with 12 (sixth).
Like Petford, Russell has also been having a strong rookie campaign as the freshmen defender has played a crucial role on the Skyhawks penalty kill which is ranked within the top 20 in the nation (17th) at .847.
On the season, Russell is ranked within the top five in terms of plus/minus at +20 right behind Petford. However, Russell leads all NEWHA defenders in plus/minus. Russell has one goal and has posted seven assists and has had two multi-assist games on the year (Jan. 6 vs Sacred Heart and Jan. 13 at Franklin Pierce). Her seven assists also place her within the top 10 of the NEWHA in assists for defenders at seventh place.
Stonehill is back in action this weekend with a two-game set hosting Long Island University starting this Friday at 5 p.m. After their final homestand, the squad then heads out to Saint Michael's College for a weekend matchup on Friday, February 10 at 7:10 p.m. and then again on Saturday, February 11 at 4 p.m. The Purple and White wrap up regular season play with an out-of-conference matchup at Syracuse on Saturday, February 18 at 2 p.m.
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