Canton, NY – (Photo Compliments of Canton) – Sophomore Noelle Niemiec (Staten Island, NY) scored twice and added a pair of assists and freshman Brooke Susac (Bowmanville, ON) made 28 saves as the SUNY Canton women’s hockey team earned a 5-1 win against visiting University of New England on Friday in the season opener for both teams.
“It was a great game for us, it was definitely a team win,” Head Coach Dave LaBaff said. “Noelle was great in every zone, it was the most comfortable I have ever seen her and it showed on the scoresheet.”
The Roos (1-0) opened the scoring just 2:41 in after the Nor’easters struggled to clear the puck from their defensive zone. Jessica Pele (Estevan, SK) kept the puck in at the blue line and fed it down the near boards to Noelle Niemiec (Staten Island, NY) who hit Tessa Dobson (Moose Factory, ON) in the slot as she scored her first collegiate goal.
SUNY Canton doubled its lead at 12:59 on the power play. Tess Adams (Calgary, AB) took a shot from the left circle that was saved by Sydney Helmbrecht. The rebound went right to Niemiec at the right circle and after her initial shot was saved by Helmbrecht she put home the rebound for the 2-0 lead.
The Roos held an 11-9 edge in shots on goal in the first period. Freshman goaltender Susac stopped all nine shots she faced in the opening 20 minutes. “It began with Brooke’s key saves early that allowed us some offensive freedom,” LaBaff noted.
SUNY Canton extended its lead to three 7:50 into the middle period. Helmbrecht made a flurry of terrific saves sprawling out as she turned aside four straight shots but Pele finally broke the goaltender putting home the fourth rebound. Niemiec earned a helper on the play.
The Nor’easters got one back two minutes later when Vanessa VanBurki found Kierra Wright in the slot who lifted a shot past Susac. Mary Wirth was also credited with an assist on the play.
SUNY Canton wasted no time responding just 20 seconds later. Sydney Jordan (Prince George, BC) fed the puck up the far boards to Adams who flicked a wrist shot over the blocker of Helmbrecth far post. The Roos took a 4-1 lead into intermission holding a 25-20 edge in shots.
The hosts extended their lead to four 49 seconds into the final period. Jordan fed the puck to Hannah Brady (Jeannette, PA) at the point who swung a pass to Niemiec who beat Helmbrecht over the stick to extend the lead.
Susac stopped 28 of the 29 shots she faced in net for the Roos, while Helmbrecht made 29 saves for the Nor’easters. The Roos went 2-for-5 with 11 shots on the power play, while UNE was 0-for-2 with three shots with the skater advantage.
“Moving forward we want another full 60-minute effort with some more emphasis on D zone accountability and a continuation of the hard-nosed offensive effort we had tonight,” LaBaff said.
These two teams will have a rematch on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Roos House. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the SUNY Canton Athletics department by “liking” us on Facebook and “following” our Twitter, Instagram and YouTube accounts.
