FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Over the past two seasons, the Battle of Connecticut has been owned by Post University Women's Ice Hockey, a trend that continued in Tuesday morning's matchup against Sacred Heart University on the road during Kids Day. Behind a two-point day from junior defenseman Emma Hoen, the Eagles won their third consecutive game against the Pioneers, dating back to last season, 2-1, pulling above .500 in conference play at 6-5-1. 

THE BASICS

Post University 2, Sacred Heart University 1

Post University (6-11-1, 6-5-1 NEWHA)

Sacred Heart University (5-11-1, 4-8-0 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was not the start Post hoped to get off to in the first period, as back-to-back penalties less than a minute apart would give Sacred Heart a 5-on-3 advantage with 12:51 left in the frame. However, senior goalie Hannah Saunders would come up clutch, making three saves while the defense in front of her forced a pair of blocks to keep the game scoreless.

Rewarding Saunders for her effort in goal would be Hoen, as she unloaded a shot from the point following a save from senior goalie Jillian Petruno on junior forward Celena Mickevicius. The goal was Hoen's third of the season as she upped her season total in points to five, already having two assists entering the day.
The teams would head into the second tied at one all as sophomore forward Ally Cohen redirected a shot by sophomore defenseman Reese Pascucci for her third goal of the season and the first of her career against the Eagles.

Wasting no time regaining the lead, junior forward Jet Devlin rifled home a shot into the corner of the net on a pair of passes from Hoen, who had her second multi-point game of the season with the assist, and Mickevicius, only 15 seconds into the second period. Despite four breakaway opportunities for the Pioneers, Saunders would stand tall in net, making nine shots in the second, keeping the Eagles ahead by one, 2-1, with 20 minutes remaining.

The aggressive play of Sacred Heart would lead to five penalties in the middle period alone, leading to an 18-shot barrage by Post, in which they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, as Petruno stopped 17 of the chances. Back-to-back penalties with just over two minutes left in the second led to a 5-on-3 chance for the Eagles, with one carrying into the third.
An evenly matched third period saw neither team find the back of the net as Saunders and Petruno made 13 saves each, but also resulted in a prime opportunity to tie the game for the Pioneers as a penalty to Mickevicius set up a 6-on-4 chance for Sacred Heart with 50.1 seconds left in regulation and Petruno on the bench. Saunders would be tagged with three shots in the net, stopping all of them, securing the 2-1 victory for Post.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Emma Hoen had her second multi-point game of the season, scoring once and assisting on the second goal for a two-point afternoon – Hoen had a two-point game against Saint Michael's College on the road on October 31st
• Neither side could find the back of the net on the power play, combining to go 0-for-12 on the man-up advantage – Both Post University and Sacred Heart University each had 5-on-3 chances, as both teams finished 0-for-6 each
• Over the last six matchups against Sacred Heart University, Post University has held the Pioneers to two goals or less in each affair, including three shutouts and two one-goal games
• Post University holds a 4-1-1 record against Sacred Heart University over the last two seasons, with the tie also being a shootout victory on the road – Over the last two seasons on the road, the Eagles are 2-2-1 with a victory in both years

WHO'S NEXT
Post University heads into a home-and-home weekend against Long Island University, starting with their final home game on the 2025 side of their schedule on Friday at 1:30 PM from the Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton, Connecticut. The Eagles fell to the Sharks in the NEWHA Semifinals last season, 2-0, after beating them for the first time in program history a few weeks prior, 3-2, at home.