SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Cassie Nevers bookended the scoring as the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team earned its second New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) sweep of the season, dispatching Saint Michael's, 5-1, on Saturday evening.
In a flashy first period, the Pioneers continued the fight they had shown the prior night, immediately putting Saint Michael's netminder Annika Lavender under fire within the first moments of the game. With the flurry, the Pios broke the deadlock just over eight minutes into the contest as Nevers scored her first goal in four games to give SHU a 1-0 lead.
Nevers secured her second goal of the season after an initial shot in front from
Grayson Limke was stuffed in the low slot, allowing the puck to find Nevers who wired a wrist shot past Lavender to open the scoring.
With just under four minutes to go in the period, the Pios doubled the lead as
Emily Wisnewski scored her second goal of the season, sending a wrist shot by the circle past the shoulder of Lavender and into the back of the net as the Red & White amassed a 17-5 shot advantage over the home side en route to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of action.
SMC came out looking to swing the momentum in the middle frame but the Pios found the first goal of the period as
Sydney Antonakis lit the lamp on the power play for her second goal of the weekend.
With SMC's Darby Rich in the box for hooking, the Pioneers went to work on the power play as
Julianna Koman's blueline feed found Antonakis whose wrist shot beat the pads of Lavender to give SHU a 3-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later, the home side earned their first goal of the weekend as Mikaela Langbacka continued her form against the Pioneers, beating SHU netminder
Carly Greene with a power-play tally to put the Purple Knights within striking distance after 40 minutes of play.
However, the Pioneers stymied any sense of a comeback with two goals in the first 3:09 of the final period. Limke opened the scoring in the final frame with her first of the season to give the Pios back their three-goal lead while Nevers fired home her second of the game 36 second later as the Pioneers completed a perfect weekend with a 5-1 win over the Purple Knights to complete the series sweep.
Top Performers:
Of Note:
- With a goal and an assist, Antonakis now leads the Pioneers with 12 points on the season. Antonakis is now on a season-long three-game goal streak and has five points in her last three games.
- Nevers' two goals are her first goals since scoring against Saint Anselm on October 28.
- Limke's third period tally is her first collegiate goal as she now becomes the third Pioneer to record their first collegiate goal this season.
Up Next:
The Pioneers continue their five-game road trip with a midweek matchup on Tuesday, November 21, against Franklin Pierce before participating in the Nutmeg Cup on Friday and Saturday, November 24-25. Puck drop from Jason Ritchie Arena is slated for 7 p.m. while SHU's initial matchup against Yale on Friday is slated for 3 p.m.
