UTICA, NY - The No. 15 Utica University women's hockey team returned home for the first time since December 3 and did so with a bang in a 5-0 shutout win over the visiting Oswego State Lakers.
Five different Pioneers scored goals tonight in
Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks),
Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel),
Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School),
Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) and
Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School) each found the back of the net once. Sloan's third period tally served as the senior's 100th career point after also racking up two assists earlier in the game.
Also assisting on goals tonight were
Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons),
Ava Suda (Cheektowaga, NY/Buffalo Bisons),
Madison Novotny (Wesley Chapel, FL/Northwood School),
Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/Wilkes University) and
Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's); each of whom had one.
In goal,
Angela Hawthorne (Santa Clara, CA/Meijer) played remarkably en route to her third shutout of the year after stopping all 24 Lakers shots.
It was a quiet first period through the first 16 minutes of play before the Pioneers got on the board first. Novotny found Stefanini near the crease as she came through with the finish for a 1-0 lead.
Still 1-0 nearly five minutes into the second, Whitney took the puck herself from center ice up ahead with numbers on her side. After a crafty move, the senior collected the puck and went top-shelf to put the Pioneers up 2-0. About six minutes later, Santullo put one in after finding herself in good position near the net to make it a 3-0 game.
Despite nearly 4:30 in penalty minutes in the period, the Utica defense and Hawthorne, who had 10 stops in the frame, stood strong to preserve the 3-0 edge.
Still 3-0 with under five minutes to play, Modlin scored at the 15:14 mark before Sloan recorded her third point of the night with a goal at 18:05 for the 100th point of her stellar career. Once again, Hawthorne made 10 stops in the period even with Utica playing shorthanded for five minutes of the third.
All remained well at the end, however, as Utica finished the night with a statement win over the Lakers.
No. 15 Utica (10-1-1, 7-0-1 UCHC) hit the road again Friday and Saturday when the team travels to Chatham University. Puck drop both days will be at 7p.m.
