MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 1, 2023)- In a game that saw ties at two different times, the Stonehill College women's ice hockey team fell to Saint Anselm in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance semifinals, 4-2 Wednesday evening at the Sullivan Arena. Overall on the night, the Skyhawks outshot the Hawks by a 62-43 margin and had 33 shots on goal compared to the hosts' 22.

Scoring

STA: Natalie Tulchinsky  (Brooklyn Pancoast and Madi Ressler), 15:59-1st

Audrey Jackson (Gabrielle Huson and Kelly Golini), 02:41-2nd

Claire Weber (Brooklyn Pancoast), 01:24-3rd

Gabrielle Huson, 19:59-3rd

STO: Maddison Achtyl (Gracie Sacca and Lily Barrett), 17:07-1st

Alexis Petford (Paige Whaley and Katie Sonntag), 04:28-2nd

Goaltending

STO: Hanna Zukow (58:48)-18 saves

STA: Allie Kelley (60:00)-31 saves

The Details

• After neither side found the back of the net for most of the opening period, the Hawks struck first after Tulchinsky sent a one-timer from the slot with a little over four minutes left in the first (15:59). 
• However, Stonehill responded less than two minutes later (17:07) when Sacca fired a shot on net but with Achtyl positioned in front of Kelley's glove side, she redirected her deflection past the Hawks netminder. Achtyl's goal marked her first in the NEWHA Playoffs.
• In the second, Saint Anselm recaptured the lead just 02:41 into the period when Jackson fired home a wrister past Zukow who had her stick knocked away. Similar to the first, the Skyhawks responded yet again when Petford knotted things at two a little over two minutes later (04:28).
• Sonntag sent a pass up to Petford by the left face-off circle from behind the Hawks net. Once Petford corralled the puck, she sent her shot past a sprawled out Kelley's stick side. Petford's tying score marked her 28th of the year, and is now just one of five student-athletes in the country with 25 or more goals and is second in the nation for the lead.
• For the rest of the period, both schools went back and forth with the Hawks slightly outshooting Stonehill, 8-7. Zukow played a great second period as the sophomore netminder made multiple stops which included a point-blank shot from Maddy McCaffery. 
• Early in the third (01:24), Webber netted the go-ahead score for Saint Anselm after she controlled a cross-ice pass from Pancoast that beat Zukow in the upper right corner. Stonehill had many great opportunities to tie the game as the squad outshot Saint Anselm, 13-7. With just 1:07 left to play, Russel fired a shot near the right face-off circle that bounced off the boards behind Kelley to a free Sonntag but her shot was covered up by the Saint Anselm goalie.
• After Sonntag's near goal, Achtyl and Petford each had great looks of their own but were turned away by Kelley, and with 19:59 left, Huson tacked on an empty-netter for the eventual 4-2 win.

Tara Time

"You don't ever want the year to end this way and you don't want them to feel that way," said head coach, Tara Watchorn. "But I'm just so proud of the group. They fought to the very end, they were resilient, they were composed, and they were together. I couldn't be more proud of them. But I think, you know, the message to the group is, 'wow, this is just the beginning.' I think beyond just what our record was and what they were able to do on the ice. I'm so proud of the foundation that they built for this program and what we stand for and how we treat each other and the type of legacy that we wanna leave behind. This group did one hell of a job at getting that kickstarter for us."

Stonehill sees its season come to an end and in its first year of competition, the Skyhawks finished 19-16-2 with a 14-9-1 mark in conference play. NEWHA Coach of the Year, Tara Watchorn, and her staff will look to build off the success of this season returning most of this year's squad. 

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