Box Score WILKES-BARRE, PA - The No. 12 Utica University women's hockey team secured its second-straight, as well as second all-time, 20-win season after defeating the Wilkes University Colonels 6-1 on Sunday.
Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) and
Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) each led the team with two goals on the afternoon while
Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons) and
Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/Wilkes University) each had one.
Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) finished as the team leader with three points on three assists followed by
Erica Sloan (Potsdam, NY/St. Lawrence Steel),
Carly Stefanini (Framingham, MA/Brooks School), Modlin and Santullo with two each.
In goal,
Maddie Esposito (Ashburn, VA/Boston Shamrocks) made 19 saves in the winning effort.
In all, the Pioneers outshot Wilkes on goal 62-20 and 94-26 overall. Utica also took 43 of 62 face offs in the game.
It took nearly 20 shots on goal and over 18 minutes of play, but Utica was able to strike first in the game. At 18:04,
Carolyn Whitney (Raleigh, NC/Milbrook School) connected with
Abby Lillis (West Seneca, NY/Buffalo Bisons), who scored for a 1-0 lead after one period of play.
Maggie Rylott (Cobourg, Ontario/West Northumberland) also received an assist on the goal.
The Pioneers limited Wilkes to eight shots on goal during the first and forced the Colonels to come up empty on their lone power play.
Hailey Modlin (Phoenix, AZ/Boston Shamrocks) wasted little time extending Utica's lead in the second period. Off a
Cortney Staniszewski (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles) pass, Modlin scored at 4:05 to put the Pioneers up 2-0. It took a while before Utica struck again in the second until
Erica Sheaffer (New Hartford, NY/Wilkes University) and
Georgiana Santullo (Woburn, MA/Boston Shamrocks/Woburn High School) scored 21 seconds apart near the end of the period. Sheaffer scored at 17:43 with
Tess Barrett (Tewksbury, MA/St. Mark's) on the assist while at 18:04, Santullo gave the team a 4-0 lead entering the third.
Just under five minutes into the third, Modlin netted her second goal of the game for a decisive 5-0 lead. Santullo followed up at 9:52 to make it a 6-0 game before Wilkes got on the board at 16:34 to avoid being shut out again.
No. 12 Utica (20-1-2, 17-0-1 UCHC) and No 14. Nazareth College will meet next weekend in Rochester, NY in a series that will determine the regular season UCHC champion.
