Stone tallied 32 saves on the night for the Skyhawks. (Photo Credit Jim Pierce).

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (February 24, 2024) – The Stonehill College women's ice hockey team secured a spot in the NEWHA semifinals after capping off its two-game sweep over Assumption University, 3-1, Saturday afternoon.

Highlights

• Sophomore trio of Alexis Petford, Maddison Achtyl, and Bailey Feeney netted goals for the Skyhawks.
• Petford's lamp lighter marked her team-leading fourth game-winner of the season.
• Sophomore duo of Sarah Taylar and Sydney Russell, as well as senior captain Paige Whaley, junior Josie Mendeszoon, and first-year defender Pusle Dyring-Andersen dished out assists for Stonehill.
• Sophomore goaltender Eve Stone picked up the win in net after stopping 32 of her 33 shots faced on the night.
• First-year forward Ava McGaffigan scored the lone goal for Assumption off assists from sophomore Emma Gurnell and freshman defender Lilly Corso.
• Junior Carissa Mudrak and first-year netminder Katelyn Michals split time in goal for the Greyhounds, totaling 21 saves.

How it Happened

• Assumption came out of the gates strong, dominating offensive zone possession through the opening five minutes of the first period, registering nine shot attempts, with six being on goal. 
• Stone and Skyhawk's defense would stand tall and keep the Greyhounds off the board, allowing their offense to net the game's opening score at the 7:26 mark of the first. 
• After receiving a neutral zone pass from Dyring-Andersen, Mendeszoon fired a shot off the shoulder of Mudrak in goal, resulting in a rebound that Achtyl would pounce on and send into the back of the net, giving the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead. 
• Petford extended Stonehill's lead to two goals in the final minute of the opening frame after deking past a defender and sending a highlight reel backhanded shot top shelf past Mudrak. 
• Stone would be called into action just 45 seconds into the middle frame as she stretched out to stifle a Greyhounds grade-A breakaway scoring chance, keeping the score at 2-0 in favor of Stonehill. 

  Petford registered her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season. (Photo Credit Jim Pierce).

• However, Assumption would respond midway through the second with a power-play goal off the stick of McGaffigan to cut the deficit to 2-1. 
• Once again in the third, continuing her stellar performance in net, Stone made another incredible breakaway save at the 13:57 mark of the final frame to retain the Skyhawks one goal advantage on the scoreboard. 
• Rewarding her netminder's efforts in the final minutes of regulation, Whaley won a puck battle inside the defensive zone and dished a pass over to Feeney, who sent a shot into an empty net from the opposite blue line, capping off the scoring and sealing the 3-1 victory and series sweep for the Skyhawks. 

Noteworthy

• Stonehill won the faceoff battle against Assumption, winning 34 of the 58 total draws.
• Paving the way at the dot was Mendeszoon who won 15 of her 19 faceoffs on the night.  
• The Greyhounds outshot the Skyhawks 33-24.
• Nine different Skyhawks recorded a block on the day as senior captain Grace Parker and Dyring-Andersen led the with three and four blocks, respectively.  
• Stonehill now leads the all-time series 5-1-0.

Up Next

Stonehill (19-15-2, 17-9-2 NEWHA) returns to action on Saturday, March 2 for the NEWHA semifinal round.

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