Feeney tallied two points on the night off a goal and assist. (Photo Credit Mary Gettens).

MANCHESTER, N.H. (March 2, 2024) – The Stonehill College women's ice hockey team skated to a thrilling overtime victory over Saint Anselm, 3-2, in the NEWHA Semifinals at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena Saturday night.

Highlights

• Sophomore trio of Alexis Petford highlighted the Skyhawks offense with a pair of goals on the night, including the overtime winner.
• Sophomore Bailey Feeney lit the lamp on her ninth goal of the season and third of the postseason.
• Senior captain Grace Parker, junior Josie Mendeszoon, sophomore Maddison Achtyl, and Feeney each registered assists on the night.
• Sophomore netminder Eve Stone was clutch in between the pipes for the Skyhawks, stopping 36 of 38 shots on the night.
• Senior Natalie Tulchinsky and sophomore Brooklyn Schneiderhan scored the lone goals for Saint Anselm.
• First-year goaltender Courtney Stagman tallied 41 saves in net for the Hawks.

How it Happened

• A breakout pass from sophomore Maeve Carey up to Feeney skating towards the Hawks net would nearly give Stonehill an early 1-0 lead five minutes into play. 
• However, Stagman would stand tall in net, making a pad save on a backhanded shot from Feeney to keep the game scoreless early in the first. 
• Both sides would go back and forth throughout the remainder of the opening frame as Stone and Stagman combined to make 23 saves in the opening period. 
• Coming out of the break, Saint Anselm would tack the first goal on the board at the 4:01 mark as Tulchinsky lit the lamp on her conference-leading 20th goal of the year.
• The Skyhawks would respond less than three minutes later as Feeney dished a cross-ice pass to Parker, who followed with a one-touch pass over to Petford, who rocketed a shot into the back of the cage, tying the game up at 1-1. 
• Saint Anselm followed Petford's game-tying goal and regained its one-goal edge after Schneiderhan tacked a power-play goal on the board at the 8:56 mark of the second. 
• Continuing to claw their way back, the Skyhawks found a way to knot the game up at two at the 12:27 mark of the middle frame as Feeney sent a backhanded shot top shelf from the far side faceoff dot. 
• In the third period, both defenses would shut down the opposition on either end of the ice, not allowing a goal and sending the game to overtime tied up at 2-2. 
• After the conclusion of one power play in the extra frame, the Skyhawks would be awarded a second just moments after Saint Anselm took a minor bench penalty for too many skaters on the ice. 

  Petford and Stone came up clutch in overtime scoring the game-winner and stopping six shots in the extra frame, respectively. (Photo Credit Mary Gettens).

• Stonehill's power-play units battled and held offensive zone possession for the entirety of the opportunity until Achtyl found Petford in the slot, who sent a wrist shot past Stagman and into the back of the net for the overtime winner, sending her team to the NEWHA Finals. 

Noteworthy

• Stonehill outshot Saint Anselm, 44-38, and won the faceoff battle, 40-24, over the Hawks.
• Petford finished with a game-high 10 shots on goal, while senior captain Paige Whaley led the Skyhawks at the dot, winning 16 of her 19 total draws on the night.

Up Next

Stonehill (20-15-2, 17-9-2 NEWHA) clinched a spot in the NEWHA Finals for the first-time in program history and will go on to face the winner of the No. 5 Franklin Pierce versus No. 1 LIU matchup.

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