FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Sophomore forward Noa Farberman tallied her sixth goal of the season for Post University Women's Ice Hockey, but a second-period strike from sophomore forward Isabella Chaput would be the difference between a win and a loss for the Eagles against Sacred Heart University Friday night on the road, 2-1. Tomorrow afternoon, the regular season will conclude with the two teams facing off on Senior Day in the Sports Center of Connecticut at 1:15 PM with playoff seeding still up for grabs.

THE BASICS

Post University 1, Sacred Heart University 2

Post University (10-20-3, 10-14-3 NEWHA)

Sacred Heart University (17-13-3, 16-8-3 NEWHA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Heading into Saturday, Post sits in seventh place with 33 points, three points back of sixth-place Assumption University with 36 points who beat Stonehill College on Friday while the Pioneers are in second place with 51 points and a three-point lead on Franklin Pierce University who has 48 points. The only seeding locked up is LIU as the top seed, Saint Anselm College in the fifth spot, and Saint Michael's College in eighth place for next weekend's conference tournament.

Depending on the results of Saturday's games, it is possible that the Eagles could be right back in Fairfield, Connecticut next weekend taking on Sacred Heart University in the best-of-three series or traveling to either Franklin Pierce or Stonehill pending the various tiebreakers that will decide the final seeding. 

Outshot in a big way tonight, junior goalie Hannah Saunders did everything she could to keep the Eagles in the game, making 37 saves, including 19 saves in the second period alone while the offense for Post struggled to get anything going against senior goalie Carly Greene. Greene would make the most saves all game in the first period with eight, allowing the only goal of the evening on a Farberman breakaway as the referee and Pioneer defender collided, setting up the opportunity for the sophomore to net the equalizer. 

Amid the 10-save first for Saunders, she would allow the first goal of the evening just 1:19 into the game as junior forward Sami Bowlby beat her with a quick shot in the slot. During her 19-save second period, Chaput would net the eventual game-winning goal against Saunders as she was left unmarked behind the defense, allowing enough space to hit the top right corner for the goal. Meanwhile, the Post offense struggled to do anything, hitting Greene with just two shots the entire period and trailing 2-1 with 20 minutes left. 

A largely defensive third led to the Pioneers holding an 8-5 advantage in shots on goal, but neither side finding the back of the net. Post would have one third-period power-play chance in which they had no shots while Sacred Heart's lone attempt, with just over three minutes to go on a tripping penalty from senior forward Julia Wysocki, garnered one shot. For the game, the Pioneers were 0-for-4 on the power play while the Eagles finished 0-for-2, and because of the late penalty to Wysocki and puck control by Sacred Heart, be unable to pull Saunders for the extra attacker as time winded down on what would be a 2-1 loss for Post. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Earning the win in net, Carly Greene needed to make only 15 saves on 16 shots taken by Post University this evening, including just two shots in the second period 
• Julia Wysocki still sits at 25 points on the year, which ties her for the single-season record set by Jenna Abeyta during the 2019-20 season -- Wysocki will have at least three more games to break the record and potentially more depending on how the postseason goes for Post University 
• Hannah Saunders finished the game with 37 saves on 39 shot attempts from Sacred Heart University -- Saunders faced 20 shots in the second period alone, halting 19 of them 
• Since their matchup on January 20th, 2023, five of the last 10 games in the all-time series have been decided by one goal with two others being ties 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University's regular season comes to an end tomorrow afternoon when they face Sacred Heart University on Senior Day at the Sports Center of Connecticut with a 1:15 PM puck drop. The Senior Day ceremony, which will honor five outgoing seniors, will take place an hour before game time at 12:15 PM.