Sacred Heart
7-14-2
Rhode Island
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Sacred Heart | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7 |
Five Second Period Goals Propels Pioneers Past URI, 7-3
2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Ice Hockey
SHELTON, Conn. – Twice the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team fell behind to Rhode Island on Friday night and each time the Pioneers responded, as they scored the last five goals of the game, all in the second period, to come from behind and defeat Rhode Island, 7-3, at the Sports Center of Connecticut. Nine different SHU players registered a point, led by Natasha Klinoff, Casey Stathopoulos, and Alex Davis with three each. Megan Ofner was the only player to score twice.
Four of the five second period goals came in the final 6:58, including three occurring within 2:10 of each other. It was Ofner who scored the fourth and fifth, 1:56 seconds apart to put the Pioneers up for good. The eventual game winner came after a scramble in front of net. URI goaltender Sarah Ross denied Emily Falvey from close range but could not settle the puck, which eventually found its way to Ofner in the slot. Ofner skated around a defender and sent her shot into the back of the net for the 4-3 lead with 6:58 remaining. In addition to Falvey, Brianna Connolly also assisted on the score.
Just seconds after the fourth goal, Megan Finlay nearly pushed the lead to two, but her shot went off the inside of the post. Instead it was Ofner scoring less than two minutes after her first. The goal came from the left circle and was set up by Amie Varano and Stathopoulos. 14 seconds after that it was Klinoff who put the game out of reach. Conolly set up the score that made the Pioneer advantage, 6-3, with 4:48 on the clock. Falvey finished the scoring four seconds before the second intermission.
Sacred Heart held a 35-20 advantage in shots for the contest. SHU converted both of its power play opportunities, while URI went 1 for 3. Amanda Fontaine came on in the beginning of the second period to replace Nicole Magee and saved 16 of the 17 shots that she faced. Ross stopped 28 in the defeat.
The Rams, who scored on two of their three shots in the opening period, jumped out to a lead just 36 seconds into the game. Jillian Holden carried the puck around net to the right side of ice and found Alisha DiFilippo cross ice in the left circle wide open. DiFilippo controlled the puck and beat Magee for the early lead. SHU controlled much of the first period play but again it was URI who struck next with 5:52 remaining. After a Pioneer turnover, Monica Darby controlled the puck and skated in for a one-on-one opportunity, which she buried.
Sacred Heart's persistence finally paid off on the first power play of the game. Klinoff found Alex Davis at the top of the zone and her shot found its way through traffic and beat Ross to cut the deficit to one with 3:57 showing. Alanna Woodford also recorded an assist on the goal. Just 1:43 later, Elizabeth Johnson, playing her first game on the year, blasted a shot from just inside the left blue line to even the score.
The Rams again took the lead early in the second period when Sydney Collins shot from the right goal line snuck past Fontaine. Janessa Coutrney set up the power play score 3:49 into the second. Just 41 seconds later Sacred Heart came back with its own man advantage goal to level the score once more. Working in the slot, Stathopoulos deflected Davis' shot from the top of the zone past Ross.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow at the Sports Center of Connecticut for a 2 pm start. Before the game, Sacred Heart will honor the SHU women's ice hockey class of 2015. Among those that will be honored are Woodford, Connolly, Klinoff, Davis, and student manager Molly Sheluck.
