SHELTON, Conn. – After a weekend away and two wins under their belt, Post University Women's Ice Hockey returned to the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton, Connecticut for a Friday and Saturday matchup against Saint Anselm College in search of their first win in program history against the Hawks.
 
Senior goalie Grace Glasrud stopped 53 of 57 shots in net for the Eagles, but freshman goalie Courtney Stagman would halt the Post offense as she stopped 23 of 24 shots she faced to help the Hawks get a 4-1 win in the first of two weekend games.
 
THE BASICS

Post University 1, Saint Anselm College 4

Post University (6-19-0, 6-13-0 NEWHA)

Saint Anselm College (14-9-1, 14-4-1 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED  
Junior forward Gracee Donovan scored the lone goal of the first period for the Hawks just under six minutes into the frame off an offensive zone faceoff win. Senior forward Abigail Blair would win the faceoff to the right side of Glasrud and get the puck over to freshman forward Hailey Tullo coming in behind her. Tullo would swing it back toward Donovan who was going to the center of the zone and she would rifle it by Glasrud for the goal.
 
After the opening 20 minutes, the Hawks would hold a 20-7 edge in shots on goal, but Glasrud would make 19 stops including helping her team kill off a penalty. Stagman had a perfect first period, stopping all seven shots she faced including helping her team stave off a Post power play to keep it 1-0 after one.
 
Having a crack at a man-up advantage just over six minutes into the second, the Eagles would cash in on the opportunity after capitalizing on a turnover by the Hawks in the defensive zone. Freshman defenseman Dani Ammons would corral the turnover on offense and fire it toward Stagman with freshman forward Celena Mickevicius in front. However, the puck would remain loose and carom off junior forward Julia Wysocki and into the back of the net to tie the game up at one all.
 
But Saint Anselm responded in kind with 4:18 to go in the frame when they capitalized off a loose puck on their own end of the ice. Senior forward Celesta Paolucci pushed a puck to sophomore defenseman Ella Ridge before finding sophomore forward Brooklyn Schneiderhan near the end board. Weaving her way between defenders, Schneiderhan would take it the length of the ice and find herself on the breakaway against Glasrud before going top shelf to give the Hawks the lead back.
 
In all, a much more evenly matched second offensively saw the Hawks lead in shots on goal narrowly, 18-14, with both goalies answering the call. In those 20 minutes, Post would go 1-for-3 on the power-play while keeping the lone power-play chance for Saint Anselm in check.
 
But the Hawks would pull away for good in the third, using two goals in a span of 1:31 during the middle part of the period to take a decisive 4-1 lead. The first of the two goals came from senior defenseman Savannah Popick after a faceoff win by senior forward Maddy McCaffery was thrown over to Paolucci and then Popick who found an open slot against Glasrud. With exactly six minutes left, senior forward Natalie Tulchinsky added her name to the scoring sheet as she circled around the offensive zone before flying in front to beat Glasrud to her left and give the Hawks a three-goal lead and eventual 4-1 win.


BY THE NUMBERS 

• Julia Wysocki has now scored goals in two of the last three games for Post and now leads the team with five goals on the season
• With that second period goal, Post University snaps a five-game stretch at home in which they had not scored a goal – The last time the Eagles scored at home was October 28^th, 2023 against Saint Michael's in a 1-0 win  
• Scoring a power-play goal today, Post University broke a 10-game streak without a man-up goal – The last power-play goal came back on November 11^th, 2023 against Franklin Pierce University on the road
• Post University has lost all 24 head-to-head matchups against Saint Anselm College in program history

WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes out their regular season series with Saint Anselm College on Saturday afternoon back at the Sports Center of Connecticut's Upper Rink at 2:45 PM in Shelton, Connecticut.