Women's Ice Hockey Falls Short in Game One Against Saint Anselm, 3-2

Friday, February 27

Manchester, NH

7:00 PM

Sacred Heart

13-20-2

Saint Anselm College

17-17-1

Sacred Heart

St. Anselm

Photo by: Colm Flood

Women's Ice Hockey Falls Short in Game One Against Saint Anselm, 3-2

2/27/2026 9:11:00 PM | Women's Ice Hockey

Box Score

Carroll and Limke each score their sixth goal of the season

By: Joe Verrillo

Manchester, N.H. – The Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team battled but fell short in game one of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) quarterfinals against Saint Anselm, 3-2.

Records:
Sacred Heart: (13-20-2, 12-15-2 NEWHA)
Saint Anselm: (17-17-1, 17-11-1 NEWHA)

Top Performers:
Shar Carroll: 1 goal
Olivia LaRoche: 5 blocked shots
Julianna Koman: 3 blocked shots
Grayson Limke: 1 goal
Peyton Bennetts: 1 assist
Kailey Smith: 1 assist

Goaltending:
Sacred Heart: Jillian Petruno: L (13-12-2) 3 goals against | 32 saves
Saint Anselm: Kayla Czukoski: 2 goals against | 23 saves

How it Happened:

The Hawks came out firing on all cylinders, forcing the Pioneers to tighten up defensively early on. Saint Anselm outshot Sacred Heart 22-13 in the opening frame, keeping pressure on the Pios' back end. Olivia LaRoche and Julianna Koman anchored the defense, while Petruno stood tall in net as the backstop. Despite generating a few quality offensive chances of their own, the Pioneers were unable to find the back of the net. Late in the period, the Hawks broke through to take a 1-0 lead, sending Sacred Heart into the locker room trailing after the first 20 minutes.
Sacred Heart found themselves under pressure once again in the second period, as the Hawks continued to control the shot count. Saint Anselm fired 29 total shots compared to just seven from the Pioneers, but Petruno remained composed between the pipes, stopping all 14 shots on goal she faced.
Just over 12 minutes into the period, the Pioneers capitalized on a momentum-shifting opportunity. Carroll broke free on a breakaway and buried an unassisted goal to even the score at 1-1. From there, the Sacred Heart defense tightened up, keeping the Hawks off the board for the remainder of the period. The teams headed into the third period deadlocked at one apiece.
The third period was filled with action. The Pioneers struck first, less than three minutes into the period. Limke found the back of the net off a feed from Bennetts. Saint Anselm immediately struck back. The Pioneers continued to generate multiple offensive opportunities but were unable to find the back of the net. The final scorer stood at 3-2.

Of Note:

Carroll scored her sixth of the year
Limke scored her sixth of the year
Bennett tallied her third assist
Kailey tallied her third assist

Up Next:

The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow for game two of the NEWHA quarterfinals, as they look to stay alive and force a game three on Sunday afternoon.