SHELTON, Conn. – Freshman forward Rowyn Ringor continued her star-studded freshman campaign, tallying two goals for Post University Women's Ice Hockey to help the Eagles snap a four-game losing skid with a 3-0 shutout win over Sacred Heart University on Friday afternoon at the Sports Center of Connecticut in their final home game on the 2024 side of their season.

Junior goalie Hannah Saunders picked up her third shutout win of the season making 45 saves for Post who with the win over the Pioneers got their first win in program history at home against their in-state rival and picked up their fourth conference win of the campaign.

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Sacred Heart University 0

Post University (4-12-2, 4-8-2 NEWHA)

Sacred Heart University (11-7-0, 10-3-0 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Two goals for the Eagles would highlight a strong start to the game despite being out shot 22-9 overall and 13-6 on goal over the first 20 minutes. Ringor netted her fifth goal of the season with the help of senior forward Julia Wysocki, who she is now tied for the team lead in goals with, along with senior defenseman Caisey Van Den Oetelaar on the power play to give Post an early 1-0 lead less than halfway through the frame.

Momentum would look to shift in favor of the Pioneers as a hit to the head by Wysocki resulted in a five-minute major and a game misconduct, removing her from the game with just under 11 minutes gone by in the game. However, less than a minute on the penalty kill, a turnover by Sacred Heart in their own zone gave the Eagles a breakaway opportunity, and sophomore forward Celena Mickevicius would finish off against sophomore goalie Lauren Larson going from left to right on her to give Post a 2-0 advantage.

A relatively quiet second period saw both sides manufacture one power-play opportunity with no luck in finding the back of the net as the Eagles maintained a 2-0 lead heading into the third. After losing a majority of the faceoffs in the first period by a 14-6 margin, Post came back to win 9-of-16 faceoffs taken while junior goalie Hannah Saunders added 12 more saves to her total which stood at 25 saves after 40 minutes while Larson had just 12 saves in the same span.

Wasting no time adding to the Post lead was Ringor with her second goal of the game only 30 seconds into the third period. Being fed a pass inside by Mickevicius, who picked up her second point of the game, Ringor fired on the right side of Larson, beating her with the shot to give the Eagles a three-goal lead with 19:30 left in regulation.

The Pioneers remained aggressive on the offensive side of the puck, holding a substantial 19-6 lead in shots on goal and 31-9 edge in shots overall as well as had the opportunity to get one back on a power play which was killed off by the Post defense. But despite all their opportunities, Saunders would stand tall in between the pipes, stopping everything she faced to the tune of 45 shots for the game to secure Post's first home win and shutout win in program history against Sacred Heart, 3-0, on Friday afternoon.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Adding two points with her two goals today, Rowyn Ringor has 12 points in her freshman season which is the most points in a single season for a freshman since Maddy Noonan had 11 points in the 2022-23 campaign – The last freshman to have a 20-plus point season was Jenna Abeyta in the 2019-20 season
• Junior goalie Hannah Saunders got her third shutout of the season, making all 45 saves she faced against Sacred Heart, which is a new single-season best for her while now having six career shutouts to expand her lead on the all-time program record
• This is the first time in program history in which Post University has beaten Sacred Heart University at home after being 0-16-1 in the all-time series at the Sports Center of Connecticut entering the day
• With a shorthanded goal in the first period, Post University now has two this season which is the most they have had in a single season since 2021-22 when they had two

WHO'S NEXT
Post University hits the ice one last time in 2024 against Sacred Heart University tomorrow night down in Fairfield, Connecticut with a 7:00 PM puck drop.