Feb. 4, 2006

Final Stats

Milford, CT - Rensselaer scored four goals in the first period and went onto blank Sacred Heart for the second straight day, 6-0 in women's hockey action Saturday afternoon at the Milford Ice Pavilion.

Before the game the Pioneers honored the four graduating seniors in a Senior Day Ceremony. Seniors Nicole Farrelly (Windsor, CT), Jessica Felt (Killingworth, CT), Jane Auxier (Palm Beach, FL), and Sarah Turbert (Norwalk, CT) all were recognized for their contributions to the Pioneer program.

Freshman Nicole McDonald opened the scoring for RPI 2:11 into the game. With the Engineers on the power play, McDonald set up in front of the net and tipped a shot by sophomore Ellen McNamara past Pioneers goaltender Stephanie Boulay (Anchorage, AK). It was McDonald's 13th goal of the season.

McDonald put the Engineers up 2-0 with her second goal of the game at the 16:05 mark of the first period. In scoring her 14th goal of the year, McDonald brough the puck around the Pioneer net, carried it into the slot, and flicked a backhanded wrist shot past Boulay.

Freshman Jaime-Lyn Stewart put RPI by three goals 23 seconds after McDonald's goal. Stewart picked up a loose puck infront of the Pioneer net and, with Boulay down on the ice, flipped a shot into the top left corner of the goal for the score. It was Stewart's ninth tally of the year.

The Engineers completed a four goal first period with just one second left on the clock. Sophomore Brooke Thompson took a pass from senior Julie Welte and blasted a shot past Boulay for her seventh goal of the season.

RPI scored two more goals in the second period to put the game away. With 8:38 gone in the period, junior Ciara Libaridian netted her first goal of the season with the Engineers on the power play. Then with 3:09 to go in the middle stanza and the Engineers on a 5 on 3 power play, senior Kari Rabatin recorded her third goal of the year to cap the scoring for RPI.

The Engineers out-shot the Pioneers 39-19. RPI went 3-6 on the power play while Sacred Heart couldn't score in four chances with the extra skater.

The Pioneers (9-11-3) will play their final six games on the road. That stretch starts next weekend with a two game series at Colby beginning Friday night.