NEWHA Roundup: Feb. 7-8, 2025

It’s that time of the week again! The NEWHA roundup you’ve been waiting for is here, and this week we’re bouncing all around the eight teams in the conference. With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, there’s no time to waste — so let’s get right to what you’ve come here for. 

Series Rewind: Saint Michael’s works out hard-earned split with SHU 

Last week I got on here and talked about how Sacred Heart continues to perform when they’ve needed to. Even with lower scoring offense in the second semester, they’ve found ways to win throughout, even with some bumps in the road.

One such bump in the road came this weekend, as the Pioneers fell to the Purple Knights in regulation for the first time since 2018 — a span of seven full years. 

For all intents and purposes, this was a game Sacred Heart should have won. The Pioneers outshot the Purple Knights in every period, doubling them up in both of the first two frames. All told, SHU had 37 shots on goal to Saint Michael’s 21, they won 34 of 48 faceoffs, and forced Saint Michael’s to block a further 20 shots. 

And still, the Purple Knights came away with a 3-1 win, including a power play goal for just the second time since November. 

It started in the second period, when junior defender Emersynn McGillis scored her second goal of her career just over halfway into the frame. A stretch pass from partner Victoria FitzGibbon allowed McGillis to drive to the net all alone, where she then finished the play to go blocker-side against Lauren Larson in net. 

On the opposite side of the ice, freshman Jordana DeMarinis made 22 saves through the first 40 minutes, keeping the Pioneers off the board and protecting the narrow lead for Saint Michael’s. The lead was further extended by the aforementioned power play goal, which came from a faceoff circle shot from freshman Jodie Gratton. After starting the semester with just one point, Gratton now has four in her last seven games – the most recent of which came soon after her power play tally. 

The forward added her second goal of the game five minutes after scoring her first, going once again glove side on Larson. Alizée LeBlanc added her sixth assist of the season on the goal, which would eventually seal the game for the Purple Knights. 

Sacred Heart tried to close the gap with eight minutes left thanks to a Brianna Mordan goal, and followed it with a run during the final six minutes in which they outshot Saint Michael’s 17-2. Neither of the Knights' shots were on goal, and in return they blocked seven of the SHU attempts, while a further six went wide or ricocheted off the pipe. The final score stood however, as Saint Michael’s skated to their fourth win of the season, this time by a score of 3-1. 

Saturday was an entirely different story, with SHU coming out hard in their senior day matchup on home ice. The Pioneers conceded the first goal again, this time courtesy of FitzGibbon, who continued her productive weekend with her first collegiate goal 17:25 into regulation. 

From there, though, it was all SHU, as they scored five unanswered to storm to the win. 

Alyssa Antonakis quickly tied the game up at one just 83 seconds after the FitzGibbon opening goal. Senior Nicole Bessinger put the Pioneers in front halfway through the second period with her first goal of the season, a score that would stand as the eventual game-winner. 

Things remained close through those two periods, as Knights goaltender Annika Lavender made a total of 26 saves on 28 shots. The final period of regulation is where things slipped away, as Bria Holm, Antonakis again, and Kate Helgeson all scored within an 8:10 span, putting the game out of reach and running out the clock. 

Carly Greene earned her second-straight win while tending the twine Saturday, closing out senior day with a 17 save effort. Her .967 save percentage would be the highest in the conference, however she has not hit the required 33% of minutes played to make the leaderboard after missing all of that time between November and January. 

After Lavender allowed the fifth goal, the junior was swapped out in favor of freshman McKenna Dans, who faced no shots in nearly seven minutes of relief action. 

Up next for the Pioneers are two games up in New Hampshire, visiting Franklin Pierce for the teams first meetings since November – meetings where SHU swept the Ravens 3-1 and 4-0. Saint Michael’s on the other hand, heads to Worcester, where a set against Assumption looms for the penultimate series of the season. 

Depending on how things shake out, SHU and Saint Michael’s may meet again soon as the No. 1 vs. No. 8 matchup in the first round of the NEWHA playoffs. Plenty can change before that, but if you're the Purple Knights, knowing you can squeak out a win over a consistent top performer in the conference has to be a good feeling heading into the last few weeks. 

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week: Heather Ajakie, F, Assumption – Freshman 

In the two-game split with Saint Anselm this past weekend, Ajakie led all Greyhounds in points, with two goals and an assist. The freshman was the lone scorer in Assumption’s 2-0 win over the Hawks, adding her first career shorthanded goal in the win. In Saturday’s loss, Ajakie continued to be productive, registering seven shots on goal (a new career high) and adding an assist on the opening score. Ajakie continues to lead the Greyhounds in scoring, with 12 points in 28 games played. 

Defensive Player of the Week: Sydney Russell, D, Stonehill – Junior

Stonehill didn’t get a lot of love this week (so far… more on that later), but Russell was instrumental in their performance over the weekend. The captain of the Skyhawks had three points in Friday’s win, including assists on the first Stonehill goal and on the game-tying one as well. Russell then followed that up with a two-block performance in Stonehill’s 1-0 win on Saturday. She has firm control over Stonehill’s single season block record, with 54 shots turned away so far – and four regular season games remaining to boot. 

Goaltender of the Week: Eve Stone, G, Stonehill – Junior 

Stone, in her first back-to-back starts of the season, was outstanding over the weekend. The junior made a combined 41 saves in the two starts, including her second shutout of the season with the 1-0 win on Saturday. Since returning to the lineup, Stone has a .943 save percentage, and has not yet lost in four appearances (3-0-1). 

Rookie of the Week: Jodie Gratton, F, Saint Michael’s – Freshman

I mentioned Gratton’s performance above, but failed to mention how important the forward was on the other side of the puck as well for Saint Michael’s. The freshman made five blocks over the course of two games, and fired off six shots of her own between Friday and Saturday. Gratton is now up to five points on the season, good for third overall on the Purple Knights, tied alongside three fellow Saint Michael’s freshmen. 

Complete Scoreboard: 

Friday: 

LIU 3 vs. Franklin Pierce 2 
Stonehill 5 vs. Post 2 
Saint Michael’s 3 at SHU 1 
Assumption 2 vs. Saint Anselm 0

Saturday: 

Saint Anselm 4 vs. Assumption 3 
Sacred Heart 5 vs. Saint Michael’s 1 
LIU 2 vs. Franklin Pierce 1 
Stonehill 1 at Post 0

What to Watch: Stonehill/Saint Anselm

Friday at Saint Anselm, 6 PM | Saturday at Stonehill, 1 PM 

Just three points separates Saint Anselm and Stonehill in the season standings heading into this weekend, and for two squads that have found themselves in the middle of the road over the last few months, the six points up for grabs are critical. 

The last time the teams met was back at the end of November, in a series where Saint Anselm took five of a possible six points with a 5-2 win and a 1-1 tie, where they ended up securing the extra point with a shootout win. Since then it’s been slightly different: Saint Anselm has gone 4-7-2, while Stonehill has secured a record of 7-5-2. 

Last weekend went better for the Skyhawks than it did for the Hawks, with a sweep over Post to cap off the season series against the Eagles. After dropping 2-0 on Friday, Saint Anselm was able to salvage the weekend with a 4-3 win against Assumption on Saturday. 

On the statistics side of things, both teams offense and defense are similarly far apart, in that Saint Anselm scores 2.2 goals per game, while giving up 3.4 to their opponents (a -1.2 goals per game differential).

Flipping it to Stonehill, the Skyhawks are allowing 3.0 goals per game, but have struggled to find consistent scoring — still sitting at that 1.8 G/GM. They did have a five-goal effort on Friday, but in November they only mustered three goals in the two games against this same Saint Anselm squad. 

Personally, something I’m tracking is how the Saint Anselm power play does in the two game set. Of the 14 goals scored on the advantage this season for the Hawks, three came in one game against Stonehill — the 5-2 win on Nov. 22nd. The Hawks converted on one of their five chances against Assumption last Saturday, and are sitting at a 13 percent conversion rate on the power play throughout the season. 

What bodes well for them is the struggle Stonehill has had on the penalty kill throughout the year. The 124 infractions committed by the Skyhawks is the highest mark in the NCAA, and while they kill off 84.7 percent of penalties taken, the amount of infractions they take can tire them out. The second-semester PK has been better than the first semester, however there’s definitely still room for improvement against a lower-success PP such as Saint Anselm’s. 

Two players to keep an eye on are both juniors: Stonehill’s leading scorer Bailey Feeney, and Saint Anselm’s Brooklyn Schneiderhan. 

For Feeney, the forward was riding a five-game point streak, before it was snapped on Saturday against Post. In her last six games, Feeney has eight points, including four goals. She scored in both games against Saint Anselm back in November — and had two assists last season when Stonehill eliminated Saint Anselm in their NEWHA playoff matchup.

Schneiderhan has been mainly quiet in the second semester; however, the forward is coming off a two-assist effort in last week’s win. During the 5-2 win in November against Stonehill, she scored two power play goals, including the eventual game-winner early in the third period. The junior is second on the team in shots this season, with 126 over just 25 games played. She’s also currently fourth in scoring on Saint Anselm overall. In last year's playoff loss, Schneiderhan was one of just two goal scorers for Saint Anselm in the eventual 3-2 defeat.  

Altogether, the playoff implications of this weekend are startling. Depending on how things shake out, there could be a fair amount of teams shifting from the slate. Saint Anselm is just three points behind Stonehill for third overall in the conference, who in turn are looking to sneak into one of the top-two spots — although LIU and Sacred Heart seem fairly clear of everyone else with a seven point cushion on the Skyhawks. 

It’ll be interesting to see where things stand after these two squads meet this weekend, especially with just four games to go in the regular season. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

Full Streaming Details Available Here

Thursday: 

Post at LIU – 2 PM 

Friday: 

LIU at Post – 1 PM 
Sacred Heart at Franklin Pierce – 2 PM
Stonehill at Saint Anselm – 6 PM 
Saint Michael’s at Assumption – 8 PM

Saturday: 

Sacred Heart at Franklin Pierce – 12 PM 
Saint Anselm at Stonehill – 1 PM 
Saint Michael’s at Assumption – 2:20 PM