NEWHA Roundup: Feb. 13-15, 2025

Well everyone, we’ve made it. The last weekend of the regular season is upon us, and with it, our last full NEWHA roundup. With so much going on, there’s a lot to break down and no time to waste. Off we go, once again. 

Series Rewind: Post and LIU Split Series For the First Time

For the first time in program history, the Post Eagles took down the LIU Sharks, with a 3-2 victory on Friday. LIU got their licks in though, taking the first game of the series 5-3 on Thursday. 

Speaking of Thursday, things weren’t as high event as they’ve been at points this season for both schools; however, the squads took advantage of opportunities when they needed to. 

Post’s Macy Peterson got things going in the first period, scoring her fifth goal of the season — and first of the spring semester — 11:30 into regulation. Noa Faberman picked up her first assist of the year on the play alongside Jodie Rose, who is now up to five helpers herself. 

Four minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, Sam Mathe tied things up for the Sharks with her first collegiate goal. The sophomore was skating in her 30th career game on Thursday, and was rewarded with the first point of her career. Her goal was the first of four straight LIU tallies, with the second coming courtesy of Grace Babington with 58 seconds to play in the first. 

Both sides were quiet in the second period, combining for 19 shots on goal. LIU grad student Abbie Thompson and Post junior Hannah Saunders turned aside every shot they saw, 12 and seven respectively in the 20 minutes of action. 

Things quickly fell apart for Saunders in the third, however. Two goals in the first five minutes — both from grad student Sarah Rourke — chased the netminder in favor of fellow junior Hali Lawrence. Now down three, the Eagles turned on the jets, or at the very least senior Julia Wysocki did. The forward closed the gap to just one with her 15th and 16th goals of the season within four minutes of one another. The first came courtesy of Rylee Patfield, while the second came on the power play with help from Caryss Kehl and Rowyn Ringor. 

With Post threatening, LIU struggled to set up in their zone and did not register a shot on goal for nearly seven minutes following the second Wysocki score. It just so happened that their next shot on goal found the back of the net thanks to Anya Weilandt, though, and the Sharks were back in front by two with under 90 seconds left to play. Which is how the game would end. 

Friday followed a similar pattern, with Post opening the scoring in the first period. Ringor’s 10th goal of the season started things up for the Eagles, and Wysocki followed her 12 seconds later with her 17th of the year. A third goal for Post from Kehl on the power play built up their lead 42 seconds into the second. After the Kehl goal — which wound up being their final goal of the game — Post was outshot and arguably outplayed by LIU even though they had a strong start to the game. All told, LIU outshot Post 23-6 in the last 39 minutes of the game, with the Sharks showing their strengths throughout.

They narrowed the lead to just one by the middle of the third period, thanks to leading scorer Jeannie Wallner and then Weilandt again. Wallner had a particularly strong weekend for LIU, as the senior had four points in two games, including three assists on Thursday. The forward continues to lead LIU in total points with 23, though it’s her least productive season in her career to this point. 

While Weilandt was able to close the gap to 3-2 with 11:47 to play, the Eagles then weathered 15 attempts from the Sharks. In the last two minutes of regulation alone, LIU generated five shots; however, blocks from Kehl, Angeline Pitter, two from Ringor, and a save from Saunders negated all of those chances for the Sharks. The final buzzer sounded, and Post skated to their first-ever win over LIU by a score of 3-2. 

Both squads scored twice on the power play over the weekend, once in each game. The Eagles had the better mark with two goals on four PP chances, while LIU went 2-for-9 across the series. With five chances on Friday, totaling 8:53 of PP time, the Sharks had eight shots on goal in those minutes of the advantage. Five SOG came on the 53-second chance they converted on. But on four other full power plays, they came up empty handed, including one chance where they did not register a single shot on goal while up a skater for two straight minutes. 

For Wysocki, it was history for the senior this weekend. With her two goal effort on Friday, the forward became the all-time leading goal scorer in program history, with 31 across her four-year career. She is now tied with Jenna Abeyta for most points in a single season with 25. She'll have a chance to pass Abeyta in single season points as well as Kendall Fitzgerald for career assists in the last regular season weekend of her career.

With the win, the Eagles are now up to 10 on the season, their most since 2019-20 when they had 12. It is just the second time they’ve hit double digits in their history, and the victories are their most in-conference ever. They’ll have a chance to hit their program record mark next weekend, as they get set for another battle of Connecticut with Sacred Heart on Friday and Saturday.

LIU on the other hand heads into the last weekend of the regular season with an 18-10-3 record, which isn’t as striking as their 28 win season from a year ago. After a somewhat rocky start to the year, the team has slowly continued to build in NEWHA play. They may not have the same stranglehold on the standings as they did in 2023-24; however, they’re still the top contender for the regular season trophy heading into the last weekend of the regular season. They’ll head to Manchester to take on Saint Anselm to close out their slate. 

Weekly Awards: 

Player of the Week: Rachel Agerter, F, Assumption – Sophomore

While the Greyhounds were sweeping the weekend series from Saint Michael’s, Agerter contributed to five of their seven goals. Her three goals more than doubled her season total to that point, and her score Friday turned out to be the game-winner. The forward has a new season-high in goals with five, and she now leads Assumption in points with 14. 

Defensive Player of the Week: Angeline Pitter, D, Post – Senior

In the aforementioned productive weekend for Post, Pitter tied and then surpassed her former single-season assist record — in a single game. The senior helped on all three Post goals in their 3-2 win over LIU Friday. It was also the highest ever point total for a single game in Post history with the three assists, and it puts the senior at 11 apples throughout her career. The defender also added two blocks in Friday’s win. 

Goaltender of the Week: Gwen Bowler, G, Franklin Pierce – Senior

Playing on Senior Day, and making her first start of the spring semester, Bowler was perfect for the Ravens. Her 36 saves were her second highest total of the season so far, and the game stands as her second shutout of the year. In over 250 minutes played this season, the senior has a .948 save percentage, with 162 total saves.

Rookie of the Week: Rowyn Ringor, F, Post – Freshman

Another key player for Post this weekend — and all season, really — was Ringor. The freshman had three points across two games, putting her at 25 total across her rookie campaign. She also opened the scoring on Saturday, before assisting on the game winning power play goal in the second period. Ringor is now the second Eagle to hit double digit goals this season, and is tied with Wysocki for the team lead in total points. 

Complete Scoreboard: 

Thursday: 

LIU 5 vs. Post 3

Friday: 

Post 3 vs. LIU 2 
Franklin Pierce 4 vs. Sacred Heart 2
Stonehill 2 at Saint Anselm 2 – Stonehill won SO 1-0
Assumption 3 vs. Saint Michael’s 1

Saturday: 

Franklin Pierce 2 vs. Sacred Heart 0 
Saint Anselm 4 at Stonehill 4 – Stonehill won SO 1-0
Assumption 4 vs. Saint Michael’s 1 

What to Watch: Honestly, All of the Games on the Docket 

Times and Locations are Available Below

With the standings as close as they are, and with the programs in the top four all playing programs in the bottom four, there’s a lot of interesting things at play heading into this last weekend. 

Stonehill and Franklin Pierce are currently tied for third with 45 conference points. Saint Anselm, who is in fifth, would need to sweep LIU and to have one or both schools drop their series over the weekend in order to move up into the top-four — the Hawks are currently at 40 points in 26 games. 

While it is possible for Saint Anselm to take two of two from LIU, I’m not sure I see that happening. The Sharks need at least three points from the weekend to stay in front of Sacred Heart in the conference standings. LIU dropping to second would also require Sacred Heart to sweep Post – something I don’t see happening. 

When LIU and Saint Anselm last met, it took overtime for the Sharks to win both games. Although things were close then, Saint Anselm has mightily struggled to end the year, with just four regulation wins in their last 12 games. I think it’s pretty safe to say LIU has locked up the regular season crown again, but it’s hockey. Anything is possible. 

Then we have the Sacred Heart series against Post. The Eagles took five of a possible six points against SHU in December, including a 3-0 shutout win over the Pioneers. With goalie trouble over the last few months, SHU’s tight grip on the standings has fallen apart, and they’re looking to salvage the season to maintain a top-two spot heading into the playoffs. The Eagles have momentum on their side though, and SHU doesn’t have the same mojo. There’s a lot at stake and a lot that could happen between these two state rivals, and I’ll definitely be giving them my attention because of it. 

Third we have Stonehill and Assumption, an interesting matchup with different implications for both teams. Much like Post, the Greyhounds took five of six points from Stonehill to close out the first semester earlier in the year. Unlike the Eagles though, the second semester has been a borderline disaster for Assumption. The Greyhounds lost their first eight games of the semester, and though they have wins in three of their last four, two of those came against Saint Michael’s just this past weekend. 

Stonehill on the other side has seen a decent amount of success in the second half, with 28 of a possible 36 points — more than double their amount from the first semester. They had two shootout wins against Saint Anselm over the past weekend, and they’re heading into the last weekend of the regular season with just one regulation loss since December.

Six points could greatly help Stonehill in the standings, but any points could also help Assumption. The Greyhounds are tied with Post for sixth at 33 points, and depending on how the Eagles perform against SHU, leapfrogging them could help with postseason matchups. 

The final piece of the puzzle is Franklin Pierce and Saint Michael’s. Which, sorry to Saint Michael’s, isn’t as interesting as the ones above. 

Yes, six points would be critical for the Ravens, but the last time these two teams met it was very easy for them to take both games. FPI outscored the Purple Knights 8-0 across two games, and have allowed goals in just three of their last 14 matchups against Saint Michael’s. Yes, STM has had some success in the second semester, and yes I can see an upset. But I think it’s far more likely that FPI takes everything here — which would be very helpful before the playoffs. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

Streaming Details Available Here

Friday: 

Stonehill at Assumption – 2:50 PM
LIU at Saint Anselm – 6 PM
Post at Sacred Heart – 7 PM
Franklin Pierce at Saint Michael’s – 7:10 PM

Saturday: 

Assumption at Stonehill – 1 PM
LIU at Saint Anselm – 1 PM
Sacred Heart at Post – 1:15 PM
Franklin Pierce at Saint Michael’s – 3 PM