FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Sophie Lupone and
Isabella Chaput made their way on the scoresheet but could not propel a Pioneer comeback as the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team fell in its 2023 finale to Post, 3-2, on Saturday evening.
Following yesterday's three goal performance, the Pioneers continued to mount pressure against the Eagles, earning the game's first power play after Post was tagged with too many skaters on the ice. With just five seconds remaining in the bench minor, the Pios drew first blood as
Sophie Lupone notched her third goal of the season to open the scoring five minutes in.
With SHU having the offensive momentum,
Grayson Limke found
Emily Wisnewski along the blueline to free up a shooting lane. Wisnekwski then sent a wrist shot that deflected off the stick of Lupone and past Post netminder Grace Gaslund to give SHU an early 1-0 lead.
The Eagles, however, would find themselves on their first power play opportunity of the period after SHU's
Iyla Ryskamp was sent to the box for a tripping minor, to earn their first chance of the night. Moments after the penalty expired, the Eagles scored their first goal of the weekend on their first shot of Saturday's contest as the Eagles went tic-tac-toe to find Tristan Currie in front of the net for her first of the night, leveling the score, 1-1 as the game headed into the first intermission.
The squads continued their to earn their fair share of infractions top start the second period as The Pios found themselves on the job just over three minutes into the period after clearing the remaining 1:23
Cassie Nevers' interference minor with under a minute to go in the first period. However, the Red & White failed to generate a quality scoring chance on the advantage as the game neared its hallway mark.
After a lengthy spell of possession in the SHU zone, Post took its first lead of the series as Currie found the back of the net for the second time of the afternoon, sending a puck past SHU's
Carly Greene to put the Eagles on top, 2-1, with just over 10 minutes to go in the middle frame.
The Eagles continued to claw their way into the SHU zone, spending a majority of the second period in the offensive end after two-consecutive infractions by the home side. With the pressure, the Eagles widened the lead to two goals as Caisey Oetelaar sent a shot from the point that deflected off a SHU defender and past Greene to give the visitors a 3-1 lead they saw into the second intermission.
The penalties continued to pile on in the third period as both teams went back-and-forth through the midway point of the frame with neither side being able to cash in on the advantage. Past the halfway mark, the visitors had a golden opportunity continue adding to their lead on a five-on-three power play, but the SHU defense had ither plans, stopping the Eagles on the two-skater advantage before going back on the power play themselves.
After two quick penalties by the Eagles, the Pioneers earned just over a minute of five-on-three power play time to help aid toward finding an equalizer. Just over 10 seconds into the advantage, the Pios cut the deficit in half as Izzy Chaput went bar-down on Glasrud, capitalizing on the front end of the two-skater advantage to make it a one-goal game with just over five minutes to go. The Pios continued to threaten on the ensuing five-on-four but could not convert as the game approached its waning stages. SHU continued to press into the final few stages of the match but could not pull back to even as Pios fell in the calendar year finale, 3-2.
Top Performers:
Of Note:
- Lupone's power-play tally in the first period is her third goal of the season and her first goal since scoring in SHU's 4-2 loss to Franklin Pierce on November 21.
- SHU's two power-play goals extends a season-long three game streak of goals on the advantage and is the second time this season the Pios have had two power-play goals in a game.
- Chaput's third period tally is her team-leading eighth goal of the season as she now has two goals in SHU's last three matches.
Up Next:
The Pioneers will begin 2024 on the road with a rematch against Harvard to start the new year, taking on the Crimson on January 2, 2024 at Bright-Landry Hockey Center in Boston, Mass. More information will be available on sacredheartpioneers.com.
