While most students headed home for Thanksgiving break, the St. Lawrence Men’s and Women’s hockey teams hit the ice for games against Princeton and Quinnipiac.
On the first Friday of break, the ladies traveled to New Jersey to take on the Princeton Tigers, and left Hobey Baker Rink with a 7-3 victory. Sophomore Brooke Webster tallied two goals in the win, while Junior Jenna Marks recorded three points on a goal and two assists.
Marks scored the only goal of the first period when she was able to force a loose puck past Princeton netminder Kimberly Newell to give the Saints a 1-0 lead after one.
A flurry of goals in the second left the teams knotted at three goals apiece after 40 minutes. Four unanswered goals by Junior Kailee Heidersbach, Senior Kayla Raniwsky, Webster and Junior Sydney Bell, as well as a save by Senior Carmen MacDonald on a Princeton penalty shot sealed the win for St. Lawrence.
The Saints then headed to Hamden, Connecticut for a matchup with the fourth ranked Quinnipiac. The Bobcats lead St. Lawrence after 20 minutes with an unassisted goal from Emma Woods at 10:42 of the first period.
The Saints took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission off goals from Webster and Marks, who both scored off rebounds for goals in consecutive games. During the third period, Nicole Connery was able to tie the game for Quinnipiac, and neither team could break the tie in the overtime period, and the ECAC foes settled for a tie. The women host Colgate this Friday and Cornell on Saturday in their last two games before the midseason break.
The men hosted Princeton and Quinnipiac at Appleton Arena. On Friday, they shutout Princeton 3-0. Sophomore Gavin Bayreuther scored the game winning goal at 3:39 of the second period. Sophomore Christian Horn added a goal in the second period, and First Year Matt Purmal sealed the game for SLU with his first career goal. First Year Kyle Hayton made 26 saves for his third shutout of the season, which ties a SLU record for shutouts in a single season.
On Saturday, the Saints took on 14th ranked Quinnipiac, looking to extend their winning streak to three games. Tanner MacMaster gave Quinnipiac a 1-0 lead after the first period, but a goal from Senior Patrick Doherty tied the game for St. Lawrence in the second. Then, with less than four minutes remaining in the second, Purmal corralled a loose puck in the high slot and fired a quick slapshot that beat Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig high on the blocker side to give St. Lawrence a 2-1 lead going into the second intermission.
One second after the midway point of the final period, Matt Peca knotted the game at 2 for Quinnipiac. Both teams had chances in the waning minutes of the game, but neither team could score a deciding goal in regulation, and they headed for extra time. In the overtime period, Peca was able to fire a wristshot past Hayton’s glove to win the contest for Quinnipiac.
The men return to action this weekend with a pair of ECAC games against North Country rival Clarkson. The teams play in Potsdam on Friday and in Canton on Saturday.