FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Ella Holm's fifth of the season secured a point for the Sacred Heart University women's hockey team as the Pioneers battled to a 1-1 tie before falling in the shootout to Post university, 1-0, on Saturday night to close out the 2024 portion of the schedule.
With the game on her stick and 90 feet standing between center ice and the back of the net,
Paige McNeil began the lonesome skate toward the Post end of the ice in the fourth round of the shootout. Having shown the netminder to the backhand, McNeil's last chance bid to extend the shootout was padded away by the Post netminder as the Pios suffered the eventual 1-0 defeat in the skills competition.
Having dropped the series opener to the Eagles on Friday, SHU looked to bounce back in the finale, storming to an onslaught of shots in the first period. However, neither side was able to best the other teams goaltender as the two sides skated to a 0-0 tie after 20 minutes.
From then on out, the special teams display became a plenty as both teams combined to rack up 14 penalty minutes across the final two periods. In the second, Having been bested for a majority of the middle frame, Post found the breakthrough approaching the midway point as Julia Wysocki knifed her way through the neutral zone before wiring a shot that beat SHU's
Lauren Larson for the 1-0 lead. SHU continued to feed into the Eagles game plan for the remainder of the frame with the Pios committing two minor infractions to put the Eagle power play – which scored once in Friday's affair – back on the wagon. However, Saturday night was much kinder to the Pios on the kill as the Red & White stymied both opportunities in the frame to avoid going down 2-0 after two periods.
Starting the third on the power play thanks to a body checking infraction late in the second, the SHU onslaught of chances began early on as the Pios looked certain to level the scoreline. Needing a way back into the game, dogged work from
Ella Holm allowed the Pios to reclaim possession on the power play just past the midway point of the period. Holm, who found
Isabella Chaput along the right wing, went streaking to the net before a pass from
Kate Helgeson along the red line found her tape and deflected the puck through a mass in front and past the goal line to put the Pios on the board.
SHU, which fired 11 shots toward the Post net in the frame, continued to pester Post through the remaining eight minute but neither side could come up with what could be the game-winning goal as the clock expired to send the game into overtime.
In the sudden-death period, both sides had ample opportunity with Post having the better of the chances. However,
Lauren Larson continued her stout performance in net, stopping four shots including two on breakaway attempts to force the game into a shootout. IN the skills contest, SHU failed to put one past Post's Hannah Saunders while Noa Faberman's tally in the fourth round proved to be the game-winner as the Pios fell, 1-0 in the shootout.
Of Note:
- Holm's third period tally is her fifth of the season and her second power-play goal of the season.
- Helgeson grabbed her fifth assist of the season in the game.
- Chaput leads the team with her 12th point on the season after earning an assist tonight.
- Saturday's game was the first time SHU has gone to a shootout this season.
Up Next:
The Pioneers return to action on January 8, 2025, opening the new year with a visit to Providence, R.I., to take on the Brown Bears. Puck drop from Meehan Auditorium is slated for 7 p.m. More information can be found at sacredheartpioneers.com.
