WORCESTER, Mass. – The women's ice hockey team cruised past New England College by a score of 4-0 today from the Hart Center. The winning streak for Holy Cross is still alive and stands at five games. The Crusaders now stand at 14-5-1 on the season and 9-2-1 in ECAC East action. The Pilgrims fall to 2-19-0 on the year and 2-10-0 in conference play.
Holy Cross held the edge in the first period as it totaled 13 total shots compared to New England College who did not have any on target. Three penalties were assessed in the first stanza. At the end of one it was notched at 0-0.
The Crusaders offense got things started in the second period. Halfway into the period sophomore Kati Goguen (Acton, Mass.) scored the first goal of the game and junior Chelsea Monahan (Cherry Hill, N.J.) earned the assist. Goguen's fourth goal and Monahan's fifth assist of the season. New England College took three shots in the period compared to Holy Cross who took seven. Heading into the second intermission the Pilgrims were only down by one goal.
The final stanza had a lot of action on both sides of the puck. Holy Cross came onto the ice very strong as Junior Rachel Miller (Jackson, Mich.) scored the second goal of the game just 46 seconds into the last period. Senior Kylee Sullivan (Arlington, Mass.) paved the way for the assist. Miller was not done as she scored her second goal of the game just six seconds later past the Pilgrims goaltender. It was Miller's ninth goal of the season and she has a total of 15 points through 20 games. Sophomore Taylor McGee (Pearl River, N.Y.) and junior Nicole Giannino (Bay Shore, N.Y.) posted the assists. The fourth goal of the game came with five minutes into the final stanza as senior Kate Reilly (Natick, Mass.) tallied the goal and it was her first of the season. Freshman Izzy Bagi (Branford, Conn.) and McGee recorded the assists. It was McGee's second of the game.
The third period saw a total of seven penalties between the two teams. Sophomore Mackenzie Boardman (Anchorage, Alaska) was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for roughing and Alexis Fitzpatrick of New England College received the same penalty. Holy Cross posted 18 shots in the final period while New England College mustered only five.
Junior net minder Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y.) posted her first shutout of the season. She earned eight saves in the game and now holds a 7-2-1 mark on the season. New England College goalie Lauren Hopps had a great performance between the pipes as she garnered a total of 34 saves in the loss.
Holy Cross continues its home game stretch as the Crusaders play Colby on Tuesday, Feb. 4 in non-conference action. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
