SHELTON, Conn. – Senior goalie Hannah Saunders made 20 saves on Thursday afternoon for Post University Women's Ice Hockey, but the Eagle offense was unable to solve senior goalie Jill Hertl, getting shut out for the fourth time in seven games this season, 2-0.  

THE BASICS

Post University 0, Franklin Pierce University 2

Post University (0-6-1, 0-2-1 NEWHA)

Franklin Pierce University (2-3-1, 2-1-0 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming out of the gate with an explosion of offense, Post generated 25 total shots, including 15 shots on goal against Hertl, who kept the Eagles off the scoreboard, as did Saunders with her six saves in the first 20 minutes. Entering the game, Post was 0-for-20 on the power play and would have a chance right out of the gate as junior forward Emma Laroche went to the penalty box for roughing less than two and a half minutes into the frame.

Hertl would need to make six saves on that power-play opportunity alone, which included a couple of scrambles in front of her as well as a wraparound attempt by junior defenseman Emma Hoen. When the Ravens headed onto their power play later in the first, they would only generate two shots on Saunders, who had to make a couple of sprawling saves from left to right to keep Franklin Pierce scoreless.

Carrying over a power play into the second period for 17 seconds, Post would only have one more shot, which was blocked by sophomore forward Brynn Levinson, before time expired on it. But another two full power play chances would present themselves for the Eagles, which resulted in nine blocked shots and four saves by Hertl and the defense as Post fell to 0-for-4 on the man-up advantage.

Junior forward Jet Devlin had the best shot of the period for the Eagles to tie things up at one just before Valeri's goal, getting on a breakaway during the penalty kill and firing just wide left of Hertl. Breaking the scoreless bout would be freshman forward Mariana Valeri just after a power play for Franklin Pierce with under eight minutes remaining in the frame.

Using the initial shot from sophomore forward Bo Dean, which Saunders stopped, Valeri would flick it over the goaltender with a delayed penalty, which was wiped out by the goal, giving the Ravens the lead, 1-0. This was in spite of another frame in which Post overwhelmingly controlled the puck offensively with a 33-14 lead in shots and a 10-9 edge in shots on goal.

In comparison to the first two periods, both sides would be relatively quiet in the third as they combined for just 12 shots on goal, with Franklin Pierce holding a slight 7-5 edge in the category. With 17 shots overall in the period, Post finished out the game with 75 shots overall, but 24 of those would be blocked by the Ravens' defense.

 Sophomore forward Bo Dean would seal the win for Franklin Pierce with just over a minute remaining in regulation with an empty net goal, snapping her team's three-game skid against the Eagles dating back to last season with the 2-0 win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Jill Hertl earned her 16^th career shutout, making 30 saves on 30 attempts against Post University, and moving to 6-4-0 with three career shutouts against the Eagles
• Bo Dean recorded a multi-point game for Franklin Pierce University, scoring the empty net goal in the third period, along with assisting on Mariana Valeri's goal in the second
• As a team, Franklin Pierce University blocked 24 shots taken by Post University, who finished the game with 75 shots overall and 30 shots on goal
• Post University was 0-for-4 on the power play this evening and is now 0-for-24 to start the season when they have a man-up advantage

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes off its two-game set with Franklin Pierce University tomorrow afternoon at the Sports Center of Connecticut with a 1:30 PM puck drop.