GENEVA, N.Y. – The William Smith College ice hockey team dropped a non-conference game to Division I Sacred Heart 5-1 this evening. Taylor Moreland registered a game-high four points (2g, 2a) to lead the Pioneers past the Herons.
Sacred Heart (6-13-1) collected the game’s first goal at 5:30 of the first period. Moreland fired a shot on net and in the resulting scrum, Casey Stathopoulos, who was standing behind the Heron goalie, tucked the puck over the goal line.
William Smith (2-15-1) had a golden scoring opportunity taken away in the closing stages of the first period. First-year Krista Federow wristed a shot from the left faceoff circle that Pioneer goalie, Nicole Magee, gloved down as time expired to end the period.
Sacred Heart doubled its lead 23 seconds into the second period when Moreland collected a rebound and tapped it into the back of the net. Alainna Woodford fired a shot from the point that Heron goalie Maggie Salmon got a piece of. As the puck trickled behind Salmon, Moreland got her stick on the puck and buried the shot in the back of the net.
William Smith managed an offensive flurry to end the second period, but again could not get the puck over the goal line.Morgan Bayreuther broke into the offensive zone and fired a shot on goal. Magee was not able to control the rebound, and with the puck lying in the crease, Federow and Catherine Linehan each got an extra poke at it before the play was blown dead.
Moreland’s second goal of the game gave the Pioneers a 3-0 lead. Heather Daley sent a cross cage pass to Moreland who shot the puck into empty side of the cage. The goal came at the 8:52 mark of the third period.
First-year Grace Durham scored the Herons goal. Her shot came from the point and had eyes for the back of the net. Krista Federow collected her team-leading sixth assist and 12th point. Linehan also tallied an assist on the goal.
Woodford scored an unassisted goal and Alex Davis notched a goal from just inside the left faceoff circle to finish off the scoring for the Pioneers.
Salmon played all 60 minutes in goal for the Herons and recorded 41 saves. Magee notched 31 saves in the win for Sacred Heart.
The Pioneers capitalized on two of their six power play opportunities while William Smith came away empty handed on its two chances.
The Herons and Sacred Heart will be back in action today. The game is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. at The Cooler.
