SHELTON, Conn. –  After a 10-day break, Post University Women's Ice Hockey found itself clicking on all cylinders on Tuesday afternoon at the Sports Center of Connecticut. Taking on the defending New England Women's Hockey Alliance Conference Champions in Sacred Heart University, senior goalie Hannah Saunders pitched a 28-save shutout against the Pioneers, as the Eagles continued their dominance in the head-to-head series.

Over the past two seasons, Post has gone 3-1-1 against Sacred Heart, even winning that tie in a shootout on the road last year, 1-0. The Eagles are 3-0-0 in the same span at home against the Pioneers after losing their first 16 matchups on home ice.

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Sacred Heart University 0

Post University (4-10-1, 4-4-1 NEWHA)

Sacred Heart University (4-7-0, 3-6-0 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Less than a minute into the contest, senior forward Tymmarie Grom, who broke the all-time consecutive games played record in Post's last game, opened the scoring for the Eagles with her second goal of the year. Coming from a point shot by sophomore defenseman Caryss Kehl, Grom cleaned up the rebound off junior forward Jodie Rose's stick for the score on senior goalie Jillian Petruno.

Post looked to further their momentum when back-to-back penalties by the Pioneers led to a 5-on-3 power play, but four blocked shots and four saves by Petruno would quell the opportunity. That still would not stop the Eagles from tallying another, as junior forward Noa Farberman's right-shot rifle from freshman defenseman Callie Peterson extended Post's lead to two heading into the second.

The opening 20 minutes were dominated by the Eagles to the tune of a 29-12 edge in overall shots, while connecting on 11 against to just four for the Pioneers on Saunders. Sacred Heart looked to capitalize on a power-play chance that bled into the second and another moments after issued to Kehl, but all three shots that found Saunders in goal were stopped.

Junior goalie Lauren Larson would take over the netminding duties in the second period for the Pioneers, and the defense in front of her would allow just one shot on goal through the first 18 minutes. While Larson finished the period with three saves, two of those would come in the final two minutes, as would the lone goal of the period scored by the Eagles.

Coming from junior forward Celena Mickevicius with just over a minute remaining, a scrum in front would see a loose puck go off several Eagles players before Mickevicius tapped it in for the score, giving Post a three-goal lead. Still holding strong in net, Saunders warded off 12 shots on goal from the Pioneers, who had four total power plays and outshot the Eagles, 27-7, in the frame.
 
A quiet end to the game would see Sacred Heart continue to pepper Saunders with 12 more shots, all of which she would stop, while Larsen needed to make only three more stops in the final 20 minutes of play. For the game, Larson's relief appearance saw her make six saves after Petruno made nine in the first period, while Saunders closed with her 28 saves in the 3-0 shutout effort. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Hannah Saunders earned her second shutout of the season and the program-record 13th of her career – Saunders has shut out Sacred Heart University three times over the last two seasons in five starts
• Callie Peterson recorded her first collegiate point for Post University, assisting on the second goal of the game – Peterson had appeared in all 14 games entering the game with 10 shots on goal
• For the defense, Post University's penalty kill was a perfect 6-for-6 against Sacred Heart University in the shutout win
• Post University holds a 3-1-1 record against Sacred Heart University over the last two seasons, with the tie also being a shootout victory on the road – The Eagles also own a 3-0-0 record since the start of last season at home against the Pioneers after dropping their first 16 matchups in the all-time series

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads on the road for three consecutive games, starting with a weekend series against Stonehill College. The two sides will square off at 3:00 PM on Friday in North Easton, Massachusetts, where the Eagles have only won one game in program history, a 3-2 victory, during the 2023-24 season.