Seahawks fall 4-3 to Saint Anselm

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.) scored two goals—including the game-winner—to go with an assist and sophomores Alex Starzyk (Enfield, Conn.) and Martha Findley (Duxbury, Mass.) each added a goal and an assist apiece as the Saint Anselm College women's hockey team pulled out a big win over Salve Regina Friday afternoon at Sullivan Arena, 4-3. 

Saint Anselm's win broke a tie with the Seahawks and moved the host Hawks to 16-5-2 overall and alone in second place with a 12-2-2 record in ECAC East play. Salve Regina fell to 14-8-1 overall and 12-4 in league action.

The game was exciting from the opening faceoff with both teams hunkering down on defense. Salve Regina started hot out of the gate with three quick shots on Saint Anselm senior goaltender Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn.) but neither team found the net in the opening frame. 

The scoreless tie was broken on a Seahawk power play as Amanda Cronin (Medfield, Mass.) stuffed home a scramble in front of Brown on the left post to put Salve Regina up 1-0 at the five-minute mark of the second period.

Herron would snag her first goal of the afternoon after a carom off SRU goaltender Colleen Marcik (Madison, Conn.) popped up high into the air, eventually dribbling to the left post where Herron tucked the puck away to lock the game at 1-1 with less than three minutes remaining in the second period. Findley played the puck to Starzyk, who had the initial shot right between the faceoff circles and both earned an assist on the Hawks' first goal. 

After the second intermission, a scrum on the right boards sent the puck across ice right in front of the Saint Anselm bench. Freshman defenseman Jackie Guy (Saint Louis, Mo.) just got a skate on the loose puck that found a streaking Starzyk. The sophomore forward carried it through the left circle and fired to Marcik's right pad. Starzyk then recollected and tucked the rebound just inside the left post to take a 2-1 lead.

The next two and a half minutes were simply wild as the Seahawks took advantage of a 5-on-3 opportunity at the 10:17 mark to retie the game at 2-2, then scored 30 seconds later on a 5-on-4 chance to surge back into the lead. 

As the game intensified, so did Saint Anselm's offense as it controlled the final two periods, outshooting SRU 34-15 in that span. However the Hawks would need some late game magic to steal a win.

Findley answered the call at the 12:00 minute mark, just over a minute after Salve Regina retook the lead. Junior defenseman Halle Kent (Lake Placid, N.Y.) played the puck across to Herron, who slapped an on-target shot from the left side. As the Seahawks tried to clear the zone, Findley lined up a slapper from deep outside the right circle and slapped home the Hawks' third goal of the game. 

Just 45 seconds later, Salve Regina tried to play the puck back into its own boards up the right side but sophomore Alison Quinn (Canton, Mass.) scooped up the loose puck from the right baseline and found a streaking Herron right in front of the crease, who rocketed the would-be game-winner left post.

As the final seconds ticked away, some late heroics by Brown salvaged the victory as the Seahawks' Michelle Holmes received an outlet pass with nobody between her and the Saint Anselm goaltender. Holmes raced up center ice and sent a shot from just outside the crease, which Brown blocked out front. The rebound deflected right back to Holmes, who tried to stuff a pair of wristers in but Brown was having none of it as the final buzzer sounded. 

The win moved Brown to 13-0-1 on the year while recording 16 saves on the afternoon. Marcik took the loss but saved a game-high 36 shots.

Power plays clearly proved integral for both teams in Friday's action as the Seahawks scored all three of its goals in the game on five extra skater opportunities. Saint Anselm also added a power play goal in the first period, but went just 1-for-7 on the afternoon. 

Saint Anselm will culminate the 2014-15 regular season Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. matchup against ECAC East rival Manhattanville. Saturday will also be Senior Day for the Hawks, as six graduating members of the women's hockey team will be honored prior to opening faceoff at Sullivan Arena.

Salve Regina will wrap up the regular season Saturday February 21 against Saint Michael's at 4 p.m.