COLCHESTER, Vt. – Junior goalie Hannah Saunders made program history for Post University Women's Ice Hockey in their New England Women's Hockey Alliance opener on the road against Saint Michael's College on Friday evening. Recording her first shutout of the season and the fourth of her career after making 25 saves, Saunders is now the all-time leader for career shutouts, surpassing Jenna Baumgartner's three shutout victories as the Eagles moved to 1-0-0 in conference play with a 4-0 shutout win over the Purple Knights.

THE BASICS

Post University 4, Saint Michael's College 0

Post University (1-2-0, 1-0-0 NEWHA)

Saint Michael's College (0-5-0, 0-1-0 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
A nearly scoreless first period for both teams quickly changed to a 1-0 Post lead after an initial shot by freshman forward Rowyn Ringor deflected off the pads of junior goalie Annika Lavender and to the stick of junior forward Rylee Patfield. Patfield's shot would also be deflected away by senior forward Julia Wysocki's stick, which would find the puck in open space for the left-side shot and score for the Eagles.

Despite the goal, Lavender still made 13 saves in the first frame compared to Saunders who needed just six saves to keep her team ahead after the initial 20 minutes. The second would be owned by both goalies as well with 20 total shots coming from both sides and the Purple Knights holding a slight 12-11 edge in shots on goal, but neither team would find the back of the net as they headed into the third in what was still a 1-0 game.

However, the Post offense would come alive against Lavender in the third to the tune of three goals, including their first shorthanded goal since January 22nd, 2022, against Anna Maria College. That would be the fourth goal of the game when the sophomore forward went right to left on Lavender, but before that sophomore defenseman Jodie Rose would pull a similar move after beating out two defenders down the middle of the ice for the second goal.

Getting her second collegiate point of the night, Ringor would assist on sophomore forward Macy Peterson's top-shelf goal just under halfway through the third to make it a three-goal game as would Patfield who had two points on the evening in the four-goal victory for Post.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• With the shutout victory, Hannah Saunders now owns the record for most career shutouts in program history, surpassing Jenna Baumgartner's mark of three with the fourth of her career in three seasons
• This is the first time in program history in which Post University has had a 4-0 shutout win – The Eagles beat Neumann University on November 26th, 2019 by a 5-0 margin and a 6-0 shutout win over Saint Michael's College on February 19th, 2022
• Scoring in the third period, Macy Peterson now has two goals in three games to start the season for Post University and a goal in back-to-back games for the first time in her collegiate career
• Saint Michael's College has now been shutout in six consecutive games dating back to last season and remains winless in their last 43 games dating back to the 2021-22 season
• With a perfect 5-for-5 night on the penalty kill, Post University's penalty kill improves to 11-for-12 on the year after going 6-for-7 at the University of St. Thomas last weekend

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes their two-game set against Saint Michael's College tomorrow afternoon up in Colchester, Vermont with a 3:00 PM puck drop.