No. 4 SAINTS STAY UNDEFEATED WITH

SHUTOUT WIN OVER UCONN

Oct. 15: In a battle of previously unbeaten teams, the No. 4 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team blanked the University of Connecticut by the score of 3-0 behind a 23-save performance by junior goalie Meaghan Guckian in Storrs, CT on Sunday afternoon.

The victory moved the Scarlet and Brown to 8-1-0 all time against the Huskies, and was Guckian’s eighth career shutout, ranking her second all-time in St. Lawrence history.

The Saints (4-0-0, 0-0-0) and Huskies battled throughout a scoreless first period, with the majority of scoring chances going to the visiting team. St. Lawrence out-shot UConn 9-6 in the opening period, but were unable to score on Huskies goaltender Brittany Wilson.

The second period was a different story, however, as the Saints came out aggressive and drew a tripping penalty on UConn’s Cristin Allen at 10:54 . The St. Lawrence power play, ranked ninth in the nation heading into Sunday’s game, put the Scarlet and Brown ahead 1-0 on a goal by senior co-captain Chelsea Grills 12:11 into the second period. Junior defenseman Annie Guay slid a pass to the Stittsville, Ont. native, who scored her second goal of the season to put the Saints on top.

St. Lawrence then skated with even more confidence, and were awarded another power play chance when Liz Gallinaro was sent to the box for checking. This time, it took the visitors only 16 seconds with the extra skater to grab a 2-0 lead, as Guay scored her first of the 2006-07 season at 14:19 of the second period, with assists going to fellow defenseman Abbie Bullard and sophomore forward Carson Duggan.

With Wilson unable to keep the Saints power play off the board, the game then fell into the hands of Guckian, who continued to be perfect through two periods of play, stopping all 17 shots she faced.

It was the third period that the Huskies applied the most pressure to the Victor, NY native, but the Saints goalie was relentless. She collected nine more stops in the third period to bring her game total to 23 saves. With only two minutes remaining in the game, senior Crystal Connors put the Huskies away with an unassisted open-net insurance goal to complete the scoring.

“Meaghan continued her consistent play from last night’s game, and she really anchored us today,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I think our special teams are starting to mesh a little better, also, which is important as we head into conference play next weekend.”

Wilson was sharp in net for the Huskies, allowing only two goals on 26 shots. The Saints finished with the edge in shots, 27-23, and finished 2-of-4 on the power play. Special teams proved to be the difference in the game, as the Saints penalty kill was a perfect 5-for-5 on the afternoon.

The Saints will now turn their attention to ECACHL play, as they kick off their 2006-07 conference schedule against their archrival, the Clarkson Golden Knights, at Appleton Arena on Friday, October 20th at 7:00pm. The two teams then meet again the following day at 3:00pm in Potsdam, NY at Cheel Arena.

GUCKIAN SLAMS DOOR ON FRIARS AS

SAINTS HOLD ON FOR 2-1 VICTORY

Oct. 14: The No. 4 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team held off a resilient Providence College team on Friday afternoon in the USCHO.com Game of the Week by the score of 1-0 in Providence, RI. Sophomore forward Alison Domenico scored the game-winning goal midway through the third period, and junior goalie Meaghan Guckian made the lead stand up as the Saints improved to 3-0-0 on the young season.

The Saints, who were defeated by the score of 5-1 on their last visit to Schneider Arena back in 2004, jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a power play goal by sophomore Carson Duggan. The Ma-Me-O Beach, Alberta native scored her third goal of the season with the player advantage, with assists going to Sabrina Harbec (4) and Annie Guay (3).

However, the Friars would bounce right back 3:10 later to even the score at 1-1. Senior defenseman Kristin Gigliotti fed a pass to sophomore Katy Beach, who scored her first goal of the season 15:18 into the opening period to knot the score heading into the first intermission.

Special teams would prove to be the deciding factor in Saturday’s game, as nineteen penalties were called throughout the contest. Providence had their chances in the second period to grab the lead, as the Saints were whistled for five penalties, but the Friars went 0-for-4 on the power play in the period. Guckian had plenty to do with that, as she stopped all twelve shots she faced in the period. Meanwhile, her counterpart Jana Bugden was equally impressive through two periods, stopping 20-of-21 shots, setting up a critical third period with the game still tied at 1-1.

The Saints, who entered the third period 1-for-4 on the power play entering the third period, would come up big with the extra skater again, this time 11:12 into the final period to take the lead. Junior Kerri Wallace slid a pass to Domenico, whose one timer got past Bugden, lighting the lamp and giving the Saints a 2-1 lead with 8:48 to play in regulation.

Guckian, who struggled in her first start of the year against Wayne State a week ago, looked much better against Providence and continued to shine in the third period. The Victor, NY native made all eleven saves in the third period, including stopping a Friar chance on the breakaway with under a minute remaining to preserve the Scarlet and Brown’s 2-1 road victory.

“Meaghan obviously gave us a boost out there, as she really kept us in the game and then closed it out for us in the third,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I think playing solid teams like Providence early in the year is only going to help us later on in the season.”

St. Lawrence out-shot Providence 35-30, and finished 2-of-8 on the power play. The Friars, who fell to 0-1-0 on the season, finished 0-of-7 with the extra skater. Guckian finished with 29 saves on 30 shots for her second win of the 2006-07 campaign, while Bugden took the loss, despite stopping 33-of-35 shots.

The Saints will look to carry their momentum into Storrs, CT where they will square off with the Connecticut Huskies tomorrow, Sunday, October 15 th at 1:00pm.