FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Following a two-game road swing to begin the new year, the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team continues its road stretch this week, taking on Assumption University in a midweek conference tilt on Tuesday, January 9. Puck drop from Worcester Ice Center in Worcester, Mass., is slated for 5:50 p.m.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers took home a critical two points in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) standings, defeating LIU on Friday night on the road, 2-1. Having lost the previous two meetings to the Sharks earlier in the year, the Pios outplayed LIU from the start, scoring the game-opening goal with under five minutes to go in the period with Iyla Ryskamp's third goal of the season as the Pios outshot the Sharks 19-9 in the opening frame. 
 
In the second, the Sharks found the back of the net on the power play, breaking a streak of 23-straight kills for the Pios as Mikayla Lantto lit the lamp to knot the game, 1-1 under five minutes into the frame. However, the Pios regained the lead just past the halfway mark of the second period as Anastasia Sloan sent a wrist shot from the point past a mass of bodies in front and into the back of the net for her first goal of the season, giving the Pios a 2-1 lead after two periods. Jillian Petruno shut down any thoughts of an LIU comeback, stopping 12 shots in the third period en route to a 29-save performance as the Pios took down the Sharks, who had failed to drop a conference game until Friday, by a score of 2-1. 
 
ON ASSUMPTION
Assumption heads into Tuesday's contest in sixth place in the NEWHA standings, amassing 11 points en route to a 5-9-1 record in conference play while standing at 5-15-1 overall. The Greyhounds battled hard last weekend but could not pull out a win on either night, dropping both games of a weekend set at Saint Anselm, 6-2 and 4-2, respectively. 
 
Three skaters stand atop the team lead in points (10) with junior Sheridan Terrazzano leading the team with seven goals on the year and accruing a 7-3-10 line through 21 games. Freshman Jenna Chaplain holds the team-lead in assists with seven helpers on the year including two in the last three games. Rounding out the double-digit scorers is freshman Ava McGaffigan who holds a 5-5-10 line this season after potting a goal in Saturday's contest. In goal, Jadyn Weiser and Carissa Mudrak have split time with Mudrak having earned the majority of the starts this season with 13. Both goalies boast an above-.900 save percentage this season and each have one shutout on the year. 
 
Jack Sweeney leads his Greyhounds in their first year as a Division I program, holding that 5-15-1 record so far in his first season at the helm. The Pios took the first meeting between the two squads this season in a gritty, 1-0 win at Martire Family Arena on December 2, 2023. Isabella Chaput's power-play goal three minutes into the third period stood as the game-winner while Jillian Petruno posted her second collegiate shutout in the win. 
 
LEAVE IT TO STAS 
Anastasia Sloan is one of five Pios to have played in every game so far this season and has served as a defensive nightmare for the opposition with her defensive capabilities. Sloan serves on the SHU penalty-kill which had its string of 23-straight kills negated last weekend in the 2-1 win over LIU. 
 
The native of Covina, Calif., is second on the team in blocked shots (39) and scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win over LIU last weekend as SHU earned its first win over the Sharks this season. Sloan's second-period goal in the win was her first since scoring in game one of the 2023 NEWHA Quarterfinals last spring and her second point this season after earning an assist in the 5-1 win over Franklin Pierce on November 3.