WORCESTER, Mass. — Kate Helgeson's deft deflection in the waning stages pushed the Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team to a game one win over the Assumption Greyhounds as the Pios grabbed a 1-0 win from the Worcester Ice Center on Friday night. 
 
Looking to take advantage of home ice, the Greyhounds pushed hard for the game-opening goal, mustering two shots on frame in the opening few minutes of the period. However, with starting netminder Jillian Petruno between the pipes and the conference's top scoring defense out on the ice, the Pios withstood the opening pressure before flipping the script with four-straight chances on the home-side as the period approached the halfway mark. 
 
SHU, with its foot on the gas, continued pestering the Greyhounds in their own zone, forcing starting goaltender Carissa Mudrak into a total of eight saves in the opening frame with her defenses combining for four blocks in support. With SHU holding the momentum late in the frame, an infraction behind the play gave the hosts the first power play of the game in what was a feisty, yet controlled affair up until then. With the hosts on the advantage, the Pios held strong as Petruno made one save through the first 87 seconds of the kill, ending the first with six saves while Paige McNeil's block in the final minute gave SHU a first-period total of eight as the Pios skated into the first intermission in a scoreless tie. 
 
With the first 20 minutes having been a back-and-forth affair, the Pios asked all the right questions in the second period, extinguishing the game's first power play with ease before holding on to the momentum through the early going of the frame. Approaching the midway point, the Pios grabbed their first power play opportunity of the game with Teagan Vaughan sitting two minutes for a body checking minor. Though SHU had its chances, Mudrak and Co. stood strong to stymie one of the NEWHA's top power-play contingencies, keeping the Pios at bay on their first of two opportunities in the period. 
 
With the momentum still riding in favor of the visitors, the Pios pestered Mudrak into a multitude of saves late in the frame as Brianna Morden, Sami Bowlby, and others each had their bids denied by the netminder. With SHU upping the pressure late in the frame, the Pios grabbed their second power-play opportunity of the night with Sheridan Terrazzano having been the culprit of a hook in the neutral zone. SHU used its time on the condensed power play to continue putting the hosts under fire, but again were held at bay by Mudrak through two periods of action as the scoreline remained deadlocked, 0-0.
 
With the Pios on the backend of the condensed power play to start the third, SHU had its best opportunity go awry as Sami Bowlby could not funnel home a low-slot chance with five to go on the advantage as the Pios went scoreless on the power play for just the third time this season. 
 
With both teams having settled into the final frame, SHU looked for the last opportunity of the nightcap with under five to go in the third period. With a plethora of chances having gone begging it was the shot of Ally Cohen that put the hands of the visiting fans on their heads as Mudrak reached over in time with the paddle to deny the Pioneer first year on the doorstep with five minutes left. 
 
The goaltender dramatics continued in the final 180 seconds as the Pios committed a stick infraction on ASM's Heather Ajakie who was in on goal, resulting in a penalty shot late in the Greyhound players shift. On the ensuing attempt, Petruno snuck outwaited the Greyhound, flashing the left pad on a wrist shot to keep the scoreline level, 0-0. 
 
With time winding down and the energy levels favoring the Red & White, the Pios continued funneling chances toward Mudrak, forcing the netminder into a calamity out in front of her crease. With time winding down, a deflection off a shot from the point landed right in the wheelhouse of Peyton Bennetts who wired a slapshot into the path of Helgeson who tipped the puck past Mudrak and into the back of the net, giving SHU the 1-0 lead with 22 seconds left in regulation.
 
With ASM having used its lone timeout, the Pios won the ensuing neutral zone draw but could not hold the Greyhounds in their own zone, leading to one last rush chance the other way. With a two-on-one developing out of thin air, a backcheck from Savannah Popick deflected a cross-ice feed in the low slot that kept the Greyhounds from tying the game in the dying embers as the Pios grabbed a gritty, 1-0 win in the opening game of the series. 
 
Of Note:

• With the 1-0 win, the Pios have grabbed consecutive 1-0 blanking's of opponents and have now shutout opponents in three of the last four games. 
• Helgeson's goal is her second of the season and first since scoring in the series finale against Saint Anselm. She becomes the fifth Pioneer to record multiple goals this season. 
• With the shutout, Petruno has now recorded two shutouts this season and consecutive shutouts for the second time in her career after posting back-to-back blanking's of Assumption and Post last December. 

 
Up Next:
The Pioneers close out the series against the Greyhounds with a return fixture in Fairfield on Saturday, November 9 with puck drop from Martire Family Arena slated for 7 p.m. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.