NEWHA Roundup: Oct. 17-22, 2024

The teams in NEWHA were all over this past weekend – literally, as some teams were playing out of conference while others played within. Some schools had good weekends, while others most definitely did not. But which is which? Guess you’ll just have to read on for more.  

Series of the Week: 

Sacred Heart Sweeps Stonehill in a six-point weekend 

SHU may have a narrow lead at the top of the standings to start the season, but they’ve played two of the stronger teams in NEWHA – and have been playing well against them – so far. After a poor showing last Friday against Saint Anselm, the Pioneers have won three in a row, including back-to-back wins over Stonehill. 

A large part of their success has been due to Carly Greene in net, who we’ll touch on in more detail a bit further down. Not only has their goaltending been solid, the power play units have been clicking, with a 21% conversion rate through six games. 

Friday’s game was a bit shaky for SHU, as the Skyhawks converted on their own power play chances twice, both in the first period. The Pioneers were also outshot overall in the contest, although not by much, 34-28. Where it counted though was the goal tally, which SHU took 4-3 thanks in part to a goal from Grayson Limke just 1:37 into the game. Peyton Bennetts, who led the team in total shots with five, scored her first point of the season with the game-winner on the power play with under four minutes left in the contest. 

The following day was also close overall, with great work on the penalty kill from Stonehill keeping the Pioneers from scoring on their four chances on the advantage. However, both Ella Holm and Alyssa Antonakis found ways to beat Alexsa Caron which was the difference in the 2-0 win. Also to note was that Isabella Chaput, who had a goal and an assist in the series, added to her team leading point total to six.

Over the course of two games, SHU blocked 23 of Stonehill’s shots, who blocked 24 of their own. It was a high shot production weekend, even if they didn’t find the back of the net the way the teams may have wanted. 

Opposite SHU’s success is Stonehill, who continues to struggle through the first month of the season. The Skyhawks have just one victory, which came from defeating LIU on Oct. 12. They sit at 1-6 after the first four weeks – and are in a tie for last in the conference with Post and Assumption. While it’s not time to hit the panic button just yet, and they have played some solid out of conference teams along with top teams in NEWHA, these losses can pile up quickly. It something to keep an eye on for sure.

Weekly Awards: 

Player of the Week: Gracee Donovan – F, Saint Anselm

In the Hawks’ weekend series against Saint Michael’s, Donovan notched five points, including four in Friday’s 5-0 win. Donovan was on the ice for all of Saint Anselm’s goals in the contest, and then continued her stand-out weekend by adding another goal on Saturday midway through the second period. The senior currently leads her team in scoring, with six points overall, and has the Hawks’ only power play tally of the season so far. 

Honor Roll: 

Kiersten Browning – F, Assumption
Isabella Chaput – F, Sacred Heart
Maggie Culp – F, LIU
Bailey Feeney – F, Stonehill
Anna Jerylo – F, Saint Michael’s

Defensive Player of the Week: Madi Ressler – D, Saint Anselm

Another Hawk flew away with conference honors, but this time on the defensive side of things with Ressler helping Saint Anselm to the weekend sweep thanks to her play on both sides of the puck. Not only did Ressler block three shots across the two games, she also added an assist on the fifth goal in Friday’s contest. Overall the defender is fifth on the team in blocked shots, and was instrumental in keeping Saint Michael’s off the board on Friday night. 

Honor Roll: 

Emma Mortl – LIU 
Savannah Popick – Sacred Heart 
Sydney Russell – Stonehill

Goaltender of the Week: Carly Greene – Sacred Heart

After setting the program record for career shutouts last weekend, Greene was right back at it against Stonehill, where she recorded her third blank slate of the season while making 33 saves on Saturday. This followed a 31 save performance in the win on Friday, and since relieving Jillian Petruno against Saint Anselm on Oct. 11, the senior has been lights out for the Pioneers. In nearly 190 minutes of action, Greene has given up just three goals on 119 shots, good for a save percentage of .975. The netminder has been instrumental to SHU’s success over the last two weeks, which is critical moving forward. 

Honor Roll: 

Alexsa Caron – Stonehill
Clara Kammholz – LIU
Carina Mancini – Saint Anselm
Jadyn Weiser – Assumption

Rookie of the Week: Ella Holm – F, Sacred Heart

Another Pioneer, this time in the form of game-winning goal scorer Holm, who notched her second goal of the season in the 2-0 win over Stonehill on Saturday. The freshman had a point in both games, and is currently riding a four-game point streak through the opening weeks of NEWHA action. Additionally, Holm has been holding her own in the faceoff circle, and has been in the top-three on the team in faceoffs wins for the past four games (42 wins, 34 losses). 

Honor Roll: 

Lucy DeCoteau – F, Saint Anselm
Kristin Kiggen – D, LIU
Ellie Newpower – D, Saint Michael’s
Reagan Whynot – D, Stonehill

Weekly Scoreboard: 

Thursday: 

Non-Conference:
Colgate (ECAC) 6, Post 1

Friday: 

Conference: 
Sacred Heart 4, Stonehill 3

LIU 3, Assumption 2

Saint Anselm 5, Saint Michael’s 0 

Non-Conference: 
Colgate 8, Post 1

Brown (ECAC) 8, Franklin Pierce 1

Saturday: 

Conference: 
Sacred Heart 2, Stonehill 0

Saint Anselm 4, Saint Michael’s 3 (OT)

Assumption 1 LIU 1 (2-1 Assumption in SO)

Non-Conference: 
Brown 6, Franklin Pierce 2 

Tuesday: 

Non-Conference:
Yale 9 (ECAC), Saint Anselm 0

Watch To Watch:

Saint Anselm vs. Robert Morris – Friday at 4 PM, Saturday at 12 PM 

Yes I know Stonehill is playing the N0. 2 team in the country on Friday, however I think this non-conference series between the Hawks and Colonials could be fairly interesting to see play out. 

Let’s be honest here, though the records are similar (3-4-0 for Saint Anselm and 3-5-0 for Robert Morris), the depth of talent they’ve played is far different. RMU is coming off four straight losses, yes – but those losses were to No. 3 Clarkson and No. 13 Princeton. Saint Anselm on the other hand needed OT to take down Saint Michael’s, and has been swept by their non-conference opponents so far this year in Holy Cross and Yale.

However, statistically I’m interested to see how these two match up. Both have been struggling to score to start the season, and in particular I want to see how RMU penalty kill (which has given up 12 goals already this season and is at a just 60% success rate), matches up against the Saint Anselm power play which is an abysmal 1-for-25. 

I also generally like to see how NEWHA schools match against non-conference opponents. The two teams met last season in Pennsylvania, and though RMU swept the Hawks with relative ease, I think this season could be a potentially different story. At the very least I expect Saint Anselm to play it closer than they did in 2023-24. 

Prediction: I think this is probably a Robert Morris sweep, although it’s closer than the two games last season were. It’ll be a good chance for one of these offenses to start clicking after a slow start to the season. It should be entertaining at the very least, and considering how well Saint Anselm has played at home recently (14-7-1 dating back to fall 2023), maybe being in the comforts of Sullivan Arena helps them get some wins here. 

Upcoming Schedule: 

All times in EST. Streaming details available Here

Friday: 

Conference: 
Franklin Pierce at Post – 2 PM 

Non-Conference: 
Saint Anselm vs. Robert Morris (AHA) - 4 PM 

Stonehill at Ohio State (WCHA) – 6 PM at the Ice Breaker Tournament 

Saturday: 

Conference: 
Post at Franklin Pierce – 7 PM 

Non-Conference: 
Saint Anselm vs. Robert Morris – 12 PM

Stonehill vs. Cornell/Penn State – Consolation or Championship Game of Tournament