RYE, N.Y. – Special teams made the difference Saturday afternoon at Playland Ice Casino, as the Valiants were unable to capitalize on eight power play opportunities, while the Hawks were able to convert two man advantage opportunities into goals to come away with a 4-1 victory over Manhattanville on Senior Day.
Freshman Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) made 31 saves on the day, but Saint Anselm was able to put XX pucks past her on the day to come away with the victory. The Valiants had several opportunities of their own, but Hannah Synnott turned away 27 shots to pick up the victory. Freshman Jordan Roetzer (Buffalo, N.Y./Niagara Junior Purple Eagles) netted the lone goal for the Valiants.
In the first period, Saint Anselm (20-5-0 overall, 14-3-0 NEHC) controlled the tempo of play for the majority of the period, outshooting Manhattanville (8-16-0, 6-10-0 NEHC) 14-6 in the period. The Hawks jumped on top when Ashley Moran broke free on a breakaway, and beat Pijaca on the glove side for her sixth goal of the season. Sain Anselm would strike again on the power play, with Alex Kazmer burying a rebound on the backside of the goal off of a shot from Martha Findley.
The Hawks extended their lead in the second stanza, netting another goal on the power play when Alex Starzyk scored her 19th goal of the season. Manhattanville had their best look on goal midway through the period when sophomore Sarah Sinning (Southold, NY/National Sports Academy) found classmate Maeve O’Brien (Chicago, Ill./Loyola Academy) cutting to the net but the defenders shot was turned aside. The Valiants had another great chance to get back in the game with an extended power play opportunity with just over eight minutes to play in the frame. The Hawks took three penalties over the next two minutes, but the Valiants were unable to capitalize on the advantage.
The Valiants were able to finally get on the scoreboard just over the midway mark of the final period. Junior Kayley Romano (Viera, Fla./Boston Shamrocks) broke free on a breakaway, but her shot was stopped by Synnott. Synnott was able to save the second opportunity from junior Lindsay Diot (Bethel, Conn./Boston Shamrocks), but Roetzer was finally able to put one past the junior goaltender for her eighth goal of the season. The Hawks would respond however, netting their fourth goal of the afternoon to put the game out of reach.
Manhattanville finishes the regular season as the number six seed in the New England Hockey Conference. They will travel to UMass Boston next Saturday for the quarterfinals of the NEHC playoffs. The time of that game is to be announced.
