MANCHESTER N.H. – Six years and seven postseason games. That was how long it took Post University Women's Ice Hockey to win their first New England Women's Hockey Alliance Tournament game. The streak was broken on Saturday night in what would be an historic evening for the Eagles on a number of levels.
For starters, Post had never beaten Saint Anselm College in program history and entered game two, an elimination game for them, at 0-26-0 all-time. Then there was sophomore goalie Hannah Saunders who got her first start in 21 days in net and made a career-high 62 saves. In a season where history has been made, it was made again with the 2-1 win for the Eagles who forced a decisive game three on Sunday afternoon against the Hawks up in Manchester, New Hampshire which will be played at 3:00 PM.
THE BASICS
Post University 2, Saint Anselm College 1
Post University (8-27-1)
Saint Anselm College (19-15-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams would exchange blows in the first period, but the first goal of the game would uncharacteristically come from Post on the power-play chance. After having not scored first in 13 straight games against Saint Anselm, the Eagles would get on the board following a delay of game penalty to junior forward Gracee Donovan. Converting on her eighth goal of the season, sophomore forward Tristan Currie beat freshman goalie Courtney Stagman just inside the right post following the offensive zone faceoff win which led to passes from freshman defenseman Dani Ammons and junior defenseman Caisey Van Den Oetelaar to get Post ahead 1-0.
But the lead would be short-lived as freshman forward Hailey Tullo netted one off the turnover in the defensive zone by the Eagles. Senior forward Claire Weber would drop the puck off to Tullo and her shot against Saunders was seemingly deflected into the air past her, rising into the top left corner of the net to tie it at one. After 20 minutes, the Post defense has blocked seven shots on top of allowing 34 total shots and 23 shots on goal to the Hawks while they themselves had just 10 shots on goal and 13 overall.
With about nine minutes to go in the second, Saunders would face a barrage of shots from Saint Anselm in quick succession as three different Hawks were on the doorstep on the crease before the Eagle defense was able to clear the puck out of trouble. Moments after that close call, sophomore forward Tymmarie Grom gave Post the lead back, 2-1, on her third goal of the season which tied her career high for a single season. Getting her second assist of the day, Van Den Oetelaar located junior forward Maddy Noonan on the left side of the zone. Noonan threw a pass from left to right where Grom was to bury the shot past Stagman's open right side, swinging momentum in the Eagles' favor.
The momentum would carry through the onslaught of offensive chances the Hawks had in the final minutes of the second and a big skate save by Saunders on a wraparound attempt by junior forward Tyra Turner sent the game into the third with Post ahead. The defense continued to be crucial in the middle period for the Eagles with eight more blocked shots while being outshot 30-10 overall and 18-7 on net.
There would be opportunities aplenty for the Hawks in the final 20 minutes as they looked to net the equalizer and avoid a game three on Sunday afternoon. Creeping on the doorstep of the goal, Saunders would turn away Saint Anselm 22 times, including one final time with just under four seconds left as the Eagles got their first win in program history and postseason history, 2-1, against the Hawks to force game three.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Hannah Saunders made a career-high 62 saves on 63 shots that she faced from Saint Anselm to secure the victory, her third of the season
- For only the second time this season, Post University scored power-play goals in three straight games – Earlier in the year the Eagles scored a power-play goal in four straight games from October 21st until November 3rd
- After scoring first in the opening period, Post University broke a stretch in which they had not scored first against Saint Anselm in 13 straight matchups – The last time the Eagles scored first before today was the February 18th, 2020 loss in the NEWHA Tournament
- This was Post University's first win in program history against Saint Anselm College after losing the first 26 matchups including two playoff games against the Hawks in the all-time series
WHO'S NEXT
Post University looks to advance to the NEWHA Semifinals for the first time in program history when they drop the puck at 3:00 PM against Saint Anselm College tomorrow afternoon.
