Fairfield, Conn – The Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team bounced back to beat Franklin Pierce 6-2, splitting the two game New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) conference opening series on Saturday, October 11^th. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: (2-2-0, 1-1-0 NEWHA)
Franklin Pierce: (1-3-0, 1-1-0 NEWHA)
 
Top Performers:
Julia Zielinska: 2 goals 
Sami Bowlby: 1 goal | 1 assist 
Isabella Chaput: 1 goal | 1 assist
Alyssa Antonakis: 1 goal 
Brianna Morden: 2 assists
Ally Cohen: 1 goal
 
Goaltending:
Sacred Heart: Jillian Petruno (2-1-0):  2 goals against | 19 saves
Franklin Pierce: Jill Hertl: 5 goals against | 39 saves
 
How it Happened:

• Sacred Heart came out strong right from the opening puck drop. Julia Zielinska opened the scoring just two minutes into the game, burying a feed from Sami Bowlby to give the Pioneers an early lead. Alyssa Antonakis followed up with her first of the season midway through the first period, assisted by Olivia Laroche, putting SHU up 2–0.
• After Franklin Pierce cut the lead in half, the Pioneers responded on the power play late in the second period when Bowlby found the back of the net off assists from Isabella Chaput and Brianna Morden, making it 3–1.
• The third period was all Sacred Heart. Ally Cohen extended the lead with her first goal of the season early in the frame, assisted by Addie Bowlby. Zielinska netted her second of the day on an empty net in the final minute, and Chaput capped things off with her first of the season just seconds later, assisted by Morden and Bria Holm

 
Of Note:

• Zielinska's two goals were the first two goals of her career 
• The Pioneers 2024-25 leading goal scorer, Isabella Chaput, gets her first of the young season 
• The Pioneers scored their third power-play goal of the season 

 
Up Next: The Pioneers are back in action on Friday, October 17^th as they travel to Stonehill for a two-game road series to continue NEWHA play.