NEWHA Roundup Oct. 11-13, 2024

Week one of in-conference play for NEWHA had it all – improbable victories, first-time wins, and some solid overall performances. We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s jump in. 

Any rankings included are in USCHO/USA Hockey poll format. 

Saint Michael’s Wins for the First Time in Nearly 600 Days

Friday: Post 4, Saint Michael’s 0
Saturday: Saint Michael’s 1, Post 0

It took over a season of game action for Saint Michael’s to win another hockey game, but for the first time since the 2023 NEWHA Playoffs the team has scraped out a victory. It was their first regular season win since Sept. 30, 2022, and the first win in first-year head coach Meghan Sweezey’s tenure. 

Sweezey opted to start netminder Jordana DeMarinis, whose only start so far this season came against Clarkson on Sept. 28, where she made 53 saves in 46 minutes. The freshman turned away every shot from the Post Eagles this past Saturday, and kept her team in it while they were being outshot 34-21. For her efforts, DeMarinis was named NEWHA Rookie of the Week on Wednesday. Defensively as well the Purple Knights were solid, blocking 21 pucks and killing off all three Post power plays. 

The offensive hero in this game was another freshman, Julia Chedel. On the power play for the fifth time in the game, Chedel rifled a slapshot home for not only her first goal of the season, but the team's first goal of the season as well. Elisabeth Gerebi and Brianna Jarvis picked up the assists on the play after the former won the faceoff back deep in the offensive zone. 

For a team that has struggled in the win column, underwent a coaching change over the summer, and has been beaten down so often to start this season, this win means everything to the program. I mean, just look at this video posted on the team’s Instagram account. 

Saturday’s victory was on the heels of another shutout loss, this time 4-0. Annika Lavender made 38 saves on 42 shots, while Post’s Hannah Saunders made 25 in her program-leading fourth shutout of her career. Rowyn Ringor and Rylee Patfield both had two assists during the game, and Julia Wysocki scored the eventual game-winner for her first tally of the season for the Eagles.

Stonehill Finally Gets Their Win 

Friday: LIU 2, Stonehill 0
Saturday: Stonehill 3, LIU 2 

Last week I mentioned that this was the matchup to watch, with the reigning regular season champions facing off against the tournament champions for the first time this season. And the matchup didn’t disappoint, and my prediction was corre​​ct for this one. 

Friday was a pretty dominant showing from the Sharks, and from Jeannie Wallner (NEWHA's Player of the Week) in particular, who had both of the LIU goals. The visiting team had 39 shots to Stonehill’s 15, and Shark’s netminder Abbie Thompson was rock solid, turning away all that she saw. The only categories that stood out in the Skyhawks' favor were faceoff wins (24 of 42) and blocked shots (13 to LIU’s 10). 

Coming into the weekend, Stonehill had scored just one goal across their three games, and were still hunting for their first since their opener against BC. And it was Maddison Achytl who came through halfway through the second period to tie the game at one following an early PP goal from LIU. 

The Sharks once again outshot the Skyhawks, this time by a mark of 40-23. Alexsa Caron, who had been playing stellar to start the season, made 38 saves in the win to go with her 37 save performance the night before. It was Bailey Feeney who played hero with her first of the season just 2:38 into the third period while short handed.

One note for the Skyhawks is the sheer number of penalties the team took this weekend, a combined 13 across the two games. The issue was the nine they took on Saturday, which cost them both goals in the win. Their own PP is just 1-14 since the start of the season, and while it’s still early, special teams are going to be crucial moving into the middle portion of the season. 

FPI Starts Late, Opens Season 2-0 

Friday: Franklin Pierce 4, Assumption 1
Saturday: Franklin Pierce 1, Assumption 0 (OT)

The Ravens were the last NEWHA team to get underway in 2024-25; however, they made the extra weeks off count and came out swinging to start the season. The team scored under nine minutes in, thanks to junior defender Maggie Korneta, and didn’t look back after that. Mikayla Kelley had two assists, picking up where she left off as the leading scorer for FPI a season ago, and Jill Hertl made 43 saves in her first win of the season – and was named the NEWHA Goaltender of the Week for her overall play this past weekend. 

Both sides started hot out of the gate on Saturday, with shots 15-12 in favor of the Greyhounds by the end of just one period. That was followed by a low offensive effort in the middle frame, where both sides had under 10 shots on goal. That was helped in part by the high number of blocked shots for both sides in the contest – FPI blocked 26 to Assumption’s 23. Additionally, the teams went a combined 0-for-9 on the power play in the contest, and 0-for-16 on the weekend in total. 

It took just 58 seconds into overtime, however, for Kelley to find the back of the net after she lifted the puck over Jadyn Weiser on the Ravens’ 30th shot of the game. Kelley and freshman defender Lilah Bauer, who had an assist on Saturday’s game-winner, currently lead the Ravens in points with three and two respectively.

SHU, Saint Anselm Split 

Friday: Saint Anselm 4, SHU 3
Saturday: SHU 4, Saint Anselm 0

One look at the box score and the immediate thought of Friday’s game would be that these two teams did not play a lot of time at 5-on-5. However, that doesn’t tell the whole story. 

The Pioneers started the game hot, with Sydney Antonakis taking a hooking penalty 1:18 into play. Two minutes after she was released, the senior scored her first goal of the season with an assist from none other than her sister Alyssa. 33 seconds later SHU was up 2-0 thanks to Ally Cohen. 

But what’s that saying? Oh yeah – a two goal lead is the most dangerous lead in hockey, which was true once again here. Tyra Turner cut the deficit to one before the end of the first, and while the Hawks had four power play chances in the second, it took until the beginning of the third for them to tie the game. 

Then they scored two more before the 10 minute mark. A late goal from Isabella Chaput on the PP brough the Pioneers within one, but they couldn’t find the back of the net late and dropped the first game of the weekend. It marked the first win for Sam Ftorek behind the bench for the Hawks, as well as the team’s first win of the season.

It was a quick rebound however, as the Pioneers took game two 4-0. Sami Bowlby scored the first goal – and the eventual game winner – 10:58 into the first period. Three more goals followed for the Pioneers, and senior goaltender Carly Greene made 45 saves in the shutout, the sixth of her career. 

Another game where blocked shots were crucial, as SHU blocked 23, led by freshman defender Brianna Morden who had five on her own. 

Matchup to Watch: 

Sacred Heart at Stonehill – Friday at 5 PM, Saturday at 1 PM

Back-to-back weeks with Stonehill in the matchup to watch, but I think this one makes the most sense to highlight heading into the weekend. 

Both teams are coming off splits last weekend, and are fairly well matched this season. The Pioneers don’t take as many shots on goal as the opponents the Skyhawks have already seen this season, which may bode well for Caron in goal. On the opposite side, however, are Jillian Petruno and Carly Greene, both extremely capable goalies. It’ll be an interesting matchup in net depending on who gets the start. 

Remember the note about Stonehill needing to tighten up this weekend? They’re especially going to need it against a SHU unit that is operating at a 27% success rate with three goals in four games already. If there was ever a time to start staying out of the box, it would be now going against SHU. 

Prediction: I think a split between these two teams is possible IF Stonehill can use the momentum from their win against LIU to keep scoring. Which is definitely up in the air. 

Offensively these teams do not match up evenly – SHU is scoring 2.3 goals/game to Stonehill’s 0.8. Defensively is another story with how solid their goaltending can be. I’m intrigued to see how it shakes out, but I’d lean more towards SHU overall. I see them winning the first game, and if they do that I think Stonehill will have a better game two but find it hard to come away with the win. 

Full Schedule: 

Stream Details Available Here

Conference: 

Sacred Heart at Stonehill – Friday at 5 PM, Saturday at 1 PM

Assumption at LIU – Friday at 5 PM, Saturday at 5:40 PM

Saint Michael’s at Saint Anselm – Friday at 7 PM, Saturday at 3 PM

Non-Conference: 

Post at No. 9/8 Colgate (ECAC) – Thursday at 7 PM, Friday at 5 PM

FPI/Brown (ECAC) – Friday at 6 PM at Brown, Saturday at 7 PM at FPI