NEWHA Roundup: Jan. 8-11, 2025

Happy mid-January everyone! We’re officially entering the last few weeks of the regular season in the NCAA calendar, and things in NEWHA are only getting more interesting as we move along. Let’s dive into what this week had to offer. 

Series Rewind: Stonehill Sweeps LIU to Start 2025 on the Right Foot

Well well well, the Skyhawks were back in action and were back in a big way this last weekend, taking six of six points from LIU in a series that I’m honestly surprised went their way. 

The two games Stonehill won were won in about the way I’d expect the team to win this season – two low scoring, close contests where Stonehill took advantage of spaces they were given by the Sharks and capitalized on them. 

Friday afternoon’s game was close until the last minute. Or, I guess, the last five minutes of regulation. A bad turnover in the LIU defensive end allowed junior forward Bailey Feeney to swoop up the puck and snipe it past goaltender Abbie Thompson for the 1-0 lead with 3:09 left in the game. 

To that point, the game had been close and tight, with the Sharks notching 28 shots on goal to the Skyhawks’ 29. The last two SOG Stonehill registered both found the back of the net courtesy of Feeney, who added the empty netter with 42 seconds remaining soon after her game-winner. LIU, after falling behind, mustered just one shot that found Alexsa Caron, however the freshman stopped it with ease and from there Stonehill shut the Sharks down. 

The following day was a little more in favor of the Sharks, who had 34 shots on goal through the 60 minutes including a 14 shot effort in the opening frame. Stonehill in response had 24 chances, but converted on two while LIU converted on just one. 

By the time LIU finally broke Caron’s shutout streak with 9:06 to play in the third, Stonehill already had goals from Lily Geist and Maddison Achtyl. The opening goal from Geist broke a 10-game pointless streak for the junior, and puts her in sole possession of fourth place in goal scoring for Stonehill this season with four total tallies. Achtyl, not to be out done, is one goal ahead of Geist with five on the season, though the goal Saturday was of the first game winning variety for Achtyl. 

There are some positive takeaways for the Sharks after the weekend, even with the back-to-back losses. The penalty kill went a perfect 6-for-6, and across the 120 minutes of hockey in total, LIU combined for 31 blocked shots led by Emma Mörtl who had five including four on Saturday. 

Thompson also had a solid outing for LIU even in the losing effort Friday, making 29 saves. The big name in net in the series though, as has long been the case all season, was Caron, who combined for 62 saves in two games including 33 on Saturday. The rookie is now up to a .912 save percentage on the season, and continues to lead the NCAA in total saves (now up to 828 in 23 starts). 

The wins ensure Stonehill has taken the season series from the Sharks 3-1, the first time the Skyhawks have secured this feat – and it comes because of the first three outright wins in program history against LIU. 

For LIU, no points this weekend dropped them down to third place in the conference standings, as Franklin Pierce with a six point weekend jumped them. Stonehill still sits in fifth with 23 points, but are now just one point from the top-half of the conference. They’ll look to leapfrog into the fourth spot this upcoming weekend against Sacred Heart. But more on that later. 

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week: Julia Wysocki, F, Post – Senior

In the Eagles weekend split with Saint Michael’s, the senior forward had four goals across two games – Post had five goals in total. She helped the team to the 3-1 win on Friday and was the only skater on the team to score in Saturday’s loss. Outside of her goal scoring finesse, Wysocki won 34 of 46 faceoffs over the two games, and blocked a shot in each game. Her 10 goals is the most she’s scored in a single season, and she is now tied for the most points for any skater in NEWHA with 17. 

Defensive Player of the Week: Ashley Wright, D, Franklin Pierce – Sophomore 

The first in the young trio to round out the awards this week, Wright had three points in the two game weekend sweep of Assumption for the Ravens. On Friday the defender had two assists in the 3-1 win, on both the opening and third goals for FPI. Then, to follow it up, she opened the scoring herself with her second career goal on Saturday, en route to the 2-1 win. The sophomore has now overtaken her total points scored last season, and sits with two goals and three assists in 19 games played on the Ravens’ blue line. 

Goaltender of the Week: Alexsa Caron, G, Stonehill – Freshman 

Well well well, if it isn’t Caron once again. As detailed above, the freshman was instrumental to Stonehill’s weekend sweep of LIU, making 62 total saves and recording a combined 0.50 goals against average. The win on Friday was her second career shutout, and the win Saturday was the seventh of her young NCAA career. 

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

The other high-scoring Post Eagle is Ringor, who has just been outstanding this season so far. The forward now has 17 points in 23 games played, and she is on her second three-game point streak of the season, with a goal and four assists over the last two weeks. Her continued success this season has put her in the conference rookie of the year conversation, and if it continues, the Eagles will continue to create problems for the rest of the conference. 

Complete Scoreboard: 

Out of conference games are bolded

Wednesday: 

Brown (ECAC) 3 vs Sacred Heart 0

Dartmouth (ECAC) 9 vs Saint Anselm 1 

Friday: 

Stonehill 2 at LIU 0 

Sacred Heart 3 at Saint Anselm 2 

Franklin Pierce 3 vs. Assumption 1 

Post 3 vs. Saint Michael’s 1 

Saturday:

Sacred Heart 2 at Saint Anselm 2 – Saint Anselm Won SO 2-1

Stonehill 2 at LIU 1 

Saint Michael’s 3 at Post 2

Franklin Pierce 2 at Assumption 1

What to Watch: Stonehill at Sacred Heart 

Friday and Saturday at 2 PM

I said we’d talk more about Sacred Heart and Stonehill later, and so here we are. 

SHU had a rough week last time out. Though they secured the win on Friday, they skated to a tie with Saint Anselm on Saturday, who eventually snagged the extra point in the shootout. Sydney Antonakis led the way for the Pioneers in the series, scoring the game winner on Friday and the first goal for the visiting team Saturday. The senior also had a combined 11 shots in two games, helped majorly by her seven in the second game tie. 

Moving into this weekend against Stonehill, that offensive production (and the overall offensive production from the team) will be crucial. SHU is averaging 2.3 goals per game, a much higher mark than the 1.5 Stonehill is sporting. However, the Pioneers have not scored more than three goals in a game since Nov. 23rd. In that stretch their opponents have outscored them 25-10, and after starting the year 11-3-0, Sacred Heart is now just 1-5-2 in their last eight. 

On the opposite side is Stonehill, who has been struggling to score but is riding that two game win streak after the sweep of LIU. The Skyhawks are also limiting goals scored against them in conference: over their last four games against Assumption and LIU, Stonehill allowed just five goals combined. 

This is a team, however, that’s not afraid of giving up a lot of shots – a place SHU excels. The Pioneers average 29.9 shots per game, which may be helped by playing against a Stonehill squad that allows 33.5 shots per game while playing in conference. 

What I’m interested to see is how the two goaltenders square off. Both schools have had their fair share of netminder concerns this season, with SHU down to their third-stringer in Lauren Larson, and Stonehill relying heavily on Caron throughout the season while their other goaltenders didn’t dress. Both Larson and Caron have been solid, however, as two of the younger goalies in NEWHA. The sophomore Larson is sporting a .921 SV% in 10 starts, the most of any Pioneer goaltender, while Caron’s .912 has only been getting better throughout the year. 

The other thing I’m interested in from SHU is Isabella Chaput, their leading scorer. The sophomore had 11 (yes, 11) shots on goal in one game on Friday, and was rewarded with a goal and an assist for her efforts. She didn’t quite match that mark with two SOG Saturday, but the forward is threatening offensively, and I’d expect that to continue this weekend. 

Prediction: I’d like to see a split here. While I think SHU is the better team when all is said and done, they’ve just had a few too many question marks over the last few weeks for me to say with confidence that they’re going to steal both of these games. When the two teams met in October, SHU swept the series, with 4-3 and 2-0 wins over the Skyhawks. I just don’t see that continuing to be the case, considering how solidly Stonehill played last weekend and just how much the Pioneers are struggling. It’ll be two close games between two solid teams, and they’ll each walk away with some points. 

Full Upcoming Schedule: 

Streaming details available here

Thursday: 

Franklin Pierce at Post – 3 PM 

Friday: 

LIU at Assumption – 7:50 PM

Stonehill at Sacred Heart – 2 PM 

Saint Anselm at Saint Michael’s – 7:10 PM 

Saturday: 

LIU at Assumption – 1:20 PM

Stonehill at Sacred Heart – 2 PM 

Saint Anselm at Saint Michael’s – 3 PM