We’re approaching the end of January but there’s still some time for the teams in NEWHA to pick their seasons up — to see them fall apart. There’s a lot shifting around, so let’s not waste any time and get right to it.
Series Rewind: The Saints end up Splitting in Weekend Set
The last time Saint Michael’s won three or more games in a season was back in 2021-22, when the Purple Knights went 3-21-1. Their three wins came against Post, (then also in NEWHA), Hamilton, and SUNY Potsdam. The latter two schools are both in Division III, and since Saint Michael’s became a full DI program, they’ve struggled to put wins together.
This season isn’t much different, however the school hit the three-win mark for the first time in three years, and it came against a Saint Anselm team fighting for a top-four spot in the conference standings.
Friday’s game was fairly close when it was all said and done. Both sides hit 37 shots on goal, the second-highest mark taken by the Knights all season. On those combined 74 shots, three went in for the Hawks, while just one found the back of the net for Saint Michael’s.
Gracee Donovan notched her ninth and 10th goals of the season in the win, including the opening and game winning tallies for Saint Anselm. Mackenzie Moss picked up her second point of the year with an assist on the first goal, while Hailey Tullo had her sixth helper on Donovan’s second score.
Before Donovan found the back of the net for the second time though, Alizée LeBlanc had tied things up for Saint Michael’s off a redirection in front. The leading scorer for the Purple Knights had been hunting for her first goal of the season, and she found one here to tie things up.
Ten minutes later, the second from Donovan restored Saint Anselm’s lead. Even as Saint Michael’s was pressuring in the final period—with 18 shots on goal to Saint Anselm’s 13—only one of the combined 31 shots found the back of the net. The goal came in the form of a power play tally for Kismet Dogan, the first ever goal and first ever point for the freshman put the Hawks up by two for good.
Both goaltenders, Jordana DeMarinis for Saint Michael’s and Ava Hills for Saint Anselm, had outstanding performances. Through nine starts this season, DeMarinis is up to a .908 save percentage with 356 saves made. Hills, who has been the primary starter for Saint Anselm, is now up to a .920 in 11 starts – helped by her performance Saturday.
Speaking of the second game of the weekend, this is where Saint Michael’s found yet another win. It started relatively early in favor of the Hawks, as they scored on their first power play chance of the contest thanks to Tullo. All told, the Saint Anselm PP went a combined 2-for-4 over the weekend, taking advantage of a Saint Michael’s penalty kill that is second-worst in the NCAA at 63.5% success on 85 attempts.
Following the goal, it took nearly an entire period for Saint Michael’s to tie things up. Alicia McDonald did so with 12:10 remaining in the second frame, after she pushed home a scrambled puck in front. It was another career first, this time for the freshman McDonald who also had four of the 36 shots on goal the Purple Knights registered.
Just over halfway through the final frame is when Saint Michael’s made their move in the form of Jodie Gratton. Another freshman scorer for the Knights, Gratton was sprung toward the net off a pass from LeBlanc. The forward put the shot on net from the faceoff circle, and was able to sneak it past Hills. 2-1 Saint Michael’s with 7:45 to play.
Things stayed fairly even for the two sides throughout the rest of regulation, until the last 20 seconds. A late call against Saint Anselm’s Cora Webber put Saint Michael’s on the power play, which eliminated the rest of time the Hawks could have pulled Hills for the extra attacker. They were able to get the netminder to the bench with three seconds left, but it was too little too late, and the Hawks dropped the decision 2-1.
Junior Annika Lavender recorded the win for Saint Michael’s, making 45 saves in the 60 minute effort. It was a very solid weekend for the Knights, and a slightly disappointing one for the Hawks. The win was the first one on home ice against Saint Anselm for Saint Michael’s in program history, and it brought them into double digit points in the NEWHA standings as well — a marked improvement from their dismal two points in conference in each of the last two seasons.
Weekly Awards:
Player of the Week: Alizée LeBlanc, F, Saint Michael’s – Sophomore
As mentioned just a moment ago, LeBlanc was instrumental this weekend for Saint Michael’s. The sophomore played a role in all three of the Purple Knight’s goals, including two assists in the 2-1 win Saturday. Outside of her scoring, the forward also won 20 of 32 faceoffs over the weekend, and had six total shots on goal.
Defensive Player of the Week: Anna Fairman, D, LIU – Senior
While the Sharks were sweeping Assumption, Fairman was crucial for them. The senior played a part in generating four of the five goals scored across two games, all in the form of assists. She also had one of the 10 blocked shots from LIU this weekend to go along with three shots on goal.
Congratulations to Anna Fairman on being named the NEWHA Defensive Player of the Week following her four-assist weekend! pic.twitter.com/QIlEayqL1R
— LIU Women’s Hockey (@LIUWHockey) January 22, 2025
Goaltender of the Week: Abbie Thompson, G, LIU – Graduate Student
Another crucial part of the sweep for LIU was Thompson, who made 57 saves in back-to-back one goal against efforts. In 19 starts this season, the graduate student is up to a .935 save percentage, and sits in second in the conference in the statistic. As announced on Jan. 14th, she is also currently on the national Goalie of the Year Watchlist thanks to her success so far.
Rookie of the Week: Alexsa Caron, G, Stonehill – Freshman
I feel like a broken record, but Caron has continued to be the difference maker for Stonehill this season. The freshman had her third shutout of the year–matching a single-season program record–in a 32-save outing over Sacred Heart. She has allowed just one goal on 94 shots in her first three appearances in 2025, good for a .989 SV%.
Complete Scoreboard:
Thursday:
Post 3 vs. Franklin Pierce 2
Friday:
Stonehill 3 at Sacred Heart 3 – Stonehill won SO 1-0
Saint Anselm 3 at Saint Michael’s 1
LIU 3 at Assumption 1
Saturday:
LIU 2 at Assumption 1
Stonehill 3 at Sacred Heart 0
Saint Michael’s 2 vs. Saint Anselm 1
What to Watch: Assumption/Post
Friday at Post at 1 PM | Saturday at Assumption at 5:30 PM
Don’t let the Eagles get hot!
After last weekend, Post is now 2-1-0 in their last three games. Which doesn’t seem like a very long stretch of time, but when you consider their second win came against Franklin Pierce–a team currently in third in the conference standings–the importance of the win becomes more apparent.
They’re now set for a two game series against Assumption, a squad who has gone 0-4-0 in their first four games of 2025. The good news for the Greyhounds is their games have been close, however they’ve been unable to get over the hump to secure a win in over a month and a half.
In the stretch of six games they’ve played, which includes their last outright win on Dec. 6th against Stonehill (a 2-1 victory), the Greyhounds are averaging just 1.3 goals per game. Through their 24 games played, they’re sitting at 1.5 goals per game, which is slowly sinking lower the longer this stretch of low-offensive production continues.
On the flip side, in their last six games, the Eagles have averaged 2.2 goals per game, a step up from the complete season average of 1.8. For them, the issue is keeping their opponents from scoring. Hannah Saunders has been lights out for Post, with a conference-high .938 SV%. The problem is her defense in front of her has been giving up 33.7 shots per game on average, which can be exhausting for the primary goaltender. Saunders has handled it well, however, and continues to be instrumental to Post.
They’ve also been seeing some insane offensive production from senior Julia Wysocki and freshman Rowyn Ringor. Both have 19 points this season, which was helped by back-to-back goals from Wysocki (assisted by Ringor) in the 3-2 win over FPI last week. Wysocki and Ringor are now tied for the conference lead in scoring, and Wysocki is in sole control on the goal scoring side of things in NEWHA with 12 total. The senior is now the all-time leader in points for Post with 46.
Assumption’s top scorers have gone somewhat quiet over the last few weeks outside of sophomores Jenna Chaplain, Alexa Hanrahan, and Rachel Agerter. Chaplain has three goals in the last five games for the Greyhounds, while Agerter has had three assists in the same span. Hanrahan was quiet for a few games, but had a goal and an assist in the weekend series against LIU where Assumption was swept.
LIU skates past Women’s Ice Hockey, 2-1#LetsGoHounds #HoundNation #NEWHA https://t.co/BHfLGqyMEs
— Assumption University Athletics (@GoAssumptionU) January 18, 2025
For the Greyhounds to win here, they’re gonna need to up their offensive production. They’ve been generating shots, but they haven’t been converting on them. If they can find ways to get in the dangerous areas to get past the netminder this weekend, that might help them get some scoring back.
On the opposite side, while relying on the three-headed monster of Wysocki, Ringor, and Saunders has worked so far, someone else needs to step up for Post too. Noa Farberman had the game winning goal against FPI last week, and the Eagles are gonna need more offense generated from other parts of their lineup to continue winning. I’m sure Assumption is going to be defending hard against Wysocki and Ringor, which should open up space for others to step in. We’ll see if that ends up being the case, and if so how Post combats against it.
Full Upcoming Schedule:
Streaming details available here
Friday:
Assumption at Post – 1 PM
Saint Michael’s at Stonehill – 6:30 PM
Saint Anselm at Franklin Pierce – 7:00 PM
Saturday:
Saint Michael’s at Stonehill – 1 PM
Franklin Pierce at Saint Anselm – 3 PM
Post at Assumption – 5:30 PM
Sacred Heart at LIU – 7:30 PM
Sunday:
LIU at Sacred Heart – 3 PM