CONNORS NETS FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK AS

SAINTS ROLL TO 7-1 WIN OVER UNION

Jan. 20: Senior forward Crystal Connors scored her first career hat trick and added two assists as the No. 6 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team skated past Union College by the score of 7-1 on Saturday afternoon in Appleton Arena. With the win, the Saints moved into third place in the ECACHL with a conference record of 11-3-0 and are only three points behind top-seeded Dartmouth.

The Saints controlled the tempo of the game from the get-go, though Union did hold one of the nation’s premier offenses off the scoreboard for over thirteen minutes. However, senior forward Chelsea Grills broke the scoreless tie at 13:07 of the first period on the power play to put St. Lawrence ahead 1-0. Fellow senior Abbie Bullard let a hard shot loose from the point, and though Union goalie Amanda Hanson was able to make the initial save, Grills was there to pounce on the rebound.

A mere 15 seconds later, the Saints found themselves on the power play again when Union’s Amanda Rucinski took a charging penalty. This time, it was some crisp passing that set up the home team’s second goal of the evening. Junior defenseman Kerri Wallace found sophomore Alison Domenico camping out behind the Union net. The Nepean, Ontario native quickly drew a defender, leaving first year student Tara Akstull all alone at the top of the crease. Domenico slipped a pretty pass in front, and Akstull one-timed the puck into the net for the 2-0 advantage.

With time winding down in the period, Union hoped to get to the locker room trailing by only two goals as they skated on the power play. However, the Saints penalty kill unit was suffocating, creating a turnover at the blue line where junior Annie Guay let a hard slap shot go on Hanson. The netminder made the save, but the shot was merely too hard to control, as the rebound again found Akstull in front, where she fired it into the goal for her first career shorthanded goal and sixth of the season.

Though she allowed three goals, Hanson played an outstanding first period, making 16 saves and keeping Union in the game at 3-0. Her counterpart, senior Kaitlin Branon, making her first career start in goal for the Scarlet and Brown, stopped all three of Union’s bids in the opening frame.

The second period was not much kinder to Union, who failed to get any offense going against St. Lawrence. Connors would make the score 4-0 only 33 seconds into the period when she fired a slap from just outside the circle. Though Hanson seemed to have trapped the puck under her pads, the shot continued to trickle and crossed the goal line for Connors’ 12th of the season. Sophomore Marianna Locke was credited with an assist on the goal.

Connors, a Belford, NJ native, would net her second goal of the contest at 16:32 of the second stanza to extend the Saints cushion to 5-0. Rookie Britni Smith slid a pass to sophomore Jordan Pyers who found Connors in the slot. The senior snapped a wrist shot that beat Hanson glove-side, completing the scoring in the period and sending the Saints to the second intermission with a 5-0 lead.

Though Brannon had been forced to make only six stops heading into the third, Union came out strong in the period and applied some pressure in the offensive zone. The Dutchwomen would strike 45 seconds into the third, as senior Meghan O’Connor tucked the puck between the near post and Branon’s pad to dash the senior’s hopes of a shut out. It was O’Connors fourth of the season, and put Union on the scoreboard, 5-1.

The Saints would waste little time in responding though, as Locke scored the team’s third power play goal of the afternoon only 1:05 later. Connors again got the play started as she found Smith at the blue line. The first year student then sent a long pass towards the far post, and though a Union defender seemed to have Locke tied up, the Brasher Falls, NY native made a great heads-up play, re-directing the puck with her skate into the goal for her 12th of the season.

Connors, who became the 11th player in St. Lawrence history to reach the 100 career point milestone earlier this season, then put the finishing touches on a fantastic game by scoring her third of the night at 14:54 of the third period. Locke again found Connors this time at the blue line where the forward sent a big slap shot on net. Hanson again seemed to make the save, but just like Connors’ first goal, the puck snuck through her pads and across the goal line for her 14th of the season and third on the day. It was also the senior’s fifth point on the afternoon and completed the game’s scoring.

“This was a big night for Crystal, and it’s good to see her skating with confidence and making some nice plays,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I really thought all four of our lines played very well from start to finish.”

Four Saints finished with multi-point games, including Connors, Locke, Smith, and Akstull. Between the pipes, Branon earned her first career victory with an eight save performance. Though she took the loss, Hanson played very well for the Dutchwomen, making 49 saves on 56 shots.

“I thought Union played hard for a full sixty minutes and never got down,” added Flanagan. “They really pressured the puck, and Hanson was great in net.”

Special teams were once again a highlight for the Scarlet and Brown, as both their power play and penalty killing units are amongst the best in the country. With the extra skater, St. Lawrence finished 3-of-8, while they held Union without a power play goal (0-for-5).

With the weekend sweep of Rensselaer and Union, all eyes now shift to next weekend’s pair of games against the conference’s top two teams, Harvard and Dartmouth. The Saints will travel to Cambridge, MA on Friday night for a showdown with the Crimson, then head to Hanover, NH for USCHO.com’s “Game of the Week” against the Big Green on Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm.

WALLACE NOTCHES THREE POINTS AS

SAINTS DOWN ENGINEERS, 4-1

Jan. 19: Junior defenseman Kerri Wallace scored a goal and added two assists as the No. 6 St. Lawrence University women’s hockey team weathered a tough storm from ECACHL newcomer Rensselaer on Friday night, topping the Engineers by the score of 4-1.

The Saints (18-5-2, 10-3-0) extended their season-long unbeaten streak to nine games and junior forward Sabrina Harbec extended her active scoring streak to eleven games. However, the visitors made it anything but easy for the Scarlet and Brown, who found themselves in a tight game throughout.

A mere 1:40 into regulation, the home team took the early advantage when senior Crystal Connors netted her 11th goal of the season on the power play. Sophomore Alison Domenico slid a pass to the point to Wallace, who loaded up and blasted a slap shot towards RPI goaltender Ashley Mayr. Though Mayr seemed to have the shot in her sights, Connors deflected it through her pads from just outside the crease to put her team ahead in the early going.

Though St. Lawrence was able to earn several more chances throughout the first period, Mayr was solid in goal and turned back six shots in the opening twenty minutes. Meanwhile, her team worked hard for every inch they could get in the Saints offensive zone, and perhaps caught both the Saints and the Appleton crowd off guard when they tied the score at 1-1 with 1:24 remaining in the first period.

With Harbec sitting in the penalty box, the Engineers took advantage when Melanie Guillemette fired a shot towards the left post. Though the shot sailed just wide, the puck bounced off the end boards and came right to Brooke Thompson. The forward snagged the puck and tucked it between the near post and St. Lawrence goaltender Meaghan Guckian’s pad to even the score heading to the first intermission.

“They certainly played a very good game tonight,” said Saints head coach Paul Flanagan. “I was very impressed with their intelligence and discipline. You can tell they’re very well coached because, even though they’re a young team, they played like a group of veterans tonight.”

With the game tied 1-1, the Saints had a fantastic chance to grab the lead as they skated 5-on-3 for over a minute to start the second stanza. However, RPI was outstanding in killing the penalty, not allowing a single shot.

As the two teams skated 4-on-4, Domenico again got a scoring opportunity started for the Scarlet and Brown as she slid a pass up to Wallace along the far boards. Wallace skated in and as she entered the right circle, sent a hard slap shot that fooled Mayr and found its way into the netting to put the Saints up 2-1 at 15:55 of the second. Domenico and fellow classmate Marianna Locke were credited with assists on Wallace’s second of the season.

With the period winding down, Rensselaer had a great chance of their own to again knot the score and swing the momentum in their favor headed into the third period. Whitney Naslund took a pass and beat the Saint defense, moving in one-on-one with Guckian with less than a minute remaining. She tested the netminder’s lateral movement with a cross-over in the crease, but Guckian was up to the task, sprawling out to make a kick save to retain her team’s 2-1 lead.

“I don’t think we had our best night of the season, but their pressure forced a lot of errors,” added Flanagan. “That was a big time save by Meaghan as it obviously kept us in front headed into the third.”

With the outcome still very much in doubt, RPI tried to pull to within one in the final frame, out-shooting the Saints 8-6 in the third. However, St. Lawrence extended their lead at 7:20 when Lisa Batchelor re-directed a shot from the point off the stick of senior Casey Hughes to put the Saints on top 3-1. It was Batchelor’s ninth of the year, and seemed to steady the Saints ship.

Though Rensselaer tried to battle back with the extra skater, Harbec found the puck and carried it over center ice where she fired her 19th goal of the season into the empty net at 19:04 of the third to seal the victory.

Guckian finished with 20 saves and improved to 15-5-2 overall, while Mayr dropped to 9-11-1 despite stopping 21 shots.

Each team managed one power play goal, as the Engineers were 1-of-4 with the extra skater while

St. Lawrence finished 1-of-6.

The Saints will be in action again tomorrow as they look to remain unbeaten all-time against Union College. The puck will drop on the Scarlet and Brown and the Dutchwomen at 4:00pm tomorrow at Appleton Arena.