Powerplay powers Seahawks past Purple Knights

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell to Salve Regina University, 3-2, on Saturday at Cairns Arena in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) contest. With the loss, the Purple Knights fall to 3-17 overall and 3-9-1 in the NEHC while the Seahawks improved to 4-15-1 and 3-9-1.

Senior Erin Dwyer (Weymouth, Mass./Archbishop Williams) led the way for the Purple Knights with two goals, she was assisted by classmate Athena Akiki (Allendale, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) and sophomore Madison Nichols (Gilford, N.H./Tilton School). Senior Carolyn Avery (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) went 12-for-18 on draws while classmate Tori Hubbard (Saint Albans, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) went 7-for-12. The Purple Knights' three senior goalies split periods, as Erica Ragazzo (Mansfield, Mass./Ursuline Academy) made 13 saves in the first before Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./The Rivers School) made 12 saves in the second and Tina Frasca (Norwood, Mass./Tabor Academy) made nine saves in the third. Dwyer's two goals pushed her career points total to 52, which gave her a solo hold of seventh in program history.

For the Seahawks, junior Briana D'Avolio scored a goal and added an assist while classmate Erica Bonnette-Lykens dished out two assists. Sophomore Angela Augusta and first-year Amanda Fantasia scored a goal apiece, and sophomore Jennifer O'Connell made 17 saves.

Salve Regina opened the scoring midway through the first, as Bonnete-Lykens fired from the point before Augusta corralled the rebound and slid an ice-level shot into the center of goal at 9:57. Ragazzo stopped the other 13 shots she faced, and the team's headed to the locker rooms at 1-0.

Saint Michael's responded just past the midpoint of the second, as Akiki sent a well-timed pass from the left circle to Dwyer just above the right post and she tallied her first with a redirection inside the right post at 13:20. Dwyer scored her second with just 28 seconds remaining in the period, as she received a pass from Nichols and beat O'Connell with a shot through the five hole. Burke stopped every shot she faced in the period, and the Purple Knights took a 2-1 lead into the third.

The Seahawks knotted the score early in the period, as D'Avolio's shot from the slot found top right portion of goal at 0:24. O'Connell denied three attempts to reestablish the lead by Saint Michael's in a 14:11 span between Salve Regina goals, and Fantasia tallied the game winner from below the left circle with a high and hard slap shot to the top right corner at 14:35. O'Connell stopped four more shots by Saint Michael's as Salve Regina held on to the lead to win the game.