FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Behind a 27-save shutout performance from Lauren Larson, the Sacred Heart University women's hockey team picked up its seventh-straight victory, dispatching the Franklin Pierce Ravens 4-0 on Saturday afternoon. The win also secured SHU's fourth New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) sweep of the season. 
 
With most of the offense having come in the final 30 minutes during last night's affair, the Pios started the stronger of the two sides, amassing a 5-2 shots on goal advantage through the first moments of the tilt before grabbing the game's first power play opportunity. On the job, the Pios found some chances but could not find the back of the net. However, just moments after both sides returned to five-on-five hockey, Isabella Chaput connected for her team-leading eighth goal of the season to open the scoring. 
 
Having handled a feed from Ally Cohen, Chaput worked some space along the far wing, dangling through two FPU defenders in the slot before rifling a wrist shot off the right post and past the glove hand of FPU's Jill Hertl to open the scoring for the home side just over eight minutes into the contest. 
 
Minutes later, the SHU blitz continued as the Pios turned solid defense into offense, capitalizing on a strong defensive play to nab the team's second shorthanded goal of the season. With the Pios shorthanded due to an interference minor, a strong play along the boards by Kate Helgeson sprung the Pioneer senior on a breakaway chance along the near wing. Helgeson proceeded by firing a stinging shot against the grain on Hertl to double the Pioneer lead, making it 2-0 with under eight to go in the first period. 
 
On the defensive end, Larson provided her defensive expertise, stopping all 11 Franklin Pierce shots through the first 20 minutes to grab her third period of scoreless hockey during the weekend series. Though SHU was outshot in the frame, the lone two goals in the period came off a Pioneer stick as the home team took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. 
 
With both teams having been some of the top penalized teams in the nation, the special teams action was in full effect during the middle frame as both sides combined to spend 40% of the period being up or down a skater. 
 
With Franklin Pierce seeming the more likely of the sides to strike on the power play, the defensive prowess of the Pio defense and Larson kept all things at bay, stopping seven shots with FPU on the advantage including one late in the period to keep goose egg on the board for FPU. On the other end, the Pios held their own offensively, outshooting the Ravens 15-14 in the period and taking the important two-goal lead into the second intermission.
 
Knowing the cliché of what can happen to a two-goal lead in hockey, the Pios took matters into their own hands in the third, scoring twice in 2:14 to put the game out of reach. Just over a minute into the frame, Savannah Popick grabbed her second goal of the weekend after knifing her way into the slot and sending a wrist shot cleanly past Hertl to give SHU a 3-0 lead. 
 
Just over two minutes later, the blitzkrieg hammered away at the Ravens end with Paige McNeil working from below the goal line and out into the near wing before firing a turnaround shot that beat Hertl through the five-hole to give SHU a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead three minutes into the third. 
 
From then on out, the Pioneers protected the only other statistic that mattered: keeping the shutout. Needing a perfect defensive gameplan, the Pioneers executed through 16 minutes of action, limiting FPU to just one shot on goal during the third period up until that point. FPU gained its best chance of the game to sneak one past Larson, who until the waning stages of the period had been perfect on 26 shots, with Emma LaRoche. Having caught the SHU defense off guard, LaRoche found herself with a breakaway chance on Larson and proceeded to wire a wrist shot labelled for the top corner. However, Larson was with it the entire way, steering the puck into a vacant corner to preserve the shutout bid as the Pios grabbed their seventh shutout of the season and seventh-consecutive win with the 4-0 victory. 
 
Of Note:

• With the shutout, Larson collects her first-ever collegiate shutout. She also becomes the third SHU goaltender to record a shutout this season. 
• Larson's 27 saves are the most saves she has made in a game in her career. 
• As a team, the Pioneers have amassed seven shutouts on the season which is the most since the 2021-22 season when the Pios amassed eight shutouts during a 33-game campaign. 
• With a goal, Isabella Chaput is now on a career-long, three-game goal streak as she leads the team this season with eight on the campaign. 
• With a goal in today's contest, Kate Helgeson has now scored in three-consecutive series and becomes the second Pioneer to record a shorthanded goal this season. 
• Savannah Popick extends her point streak to a career-long five games.
• Paige McNeil's third-period tally is her first goal of the season and first point since tallying an assist in the finale against Saint Anselm (10/12). 
• With a helper on Paige McNeil's goal, Katie Keenan grabs her first point of the season. 

 
Up Next:
The Pioneers take a break from conference play next weekend, hosting some of the top collegiate women's hockey teams for the annual Nutmeg Classic. SHU will take on I-95 foes Quinnipiac on November 29 at 3 p.m. before taking on either Yale or UCONN the following day on Saturday, November 30. More information on the 2024 Nutmeg Classic can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.