WORCESTER, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell to an undefeated College of the Holy Cross squad, 8-0, on Saturday at the Hart Center in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East contest. The Purple Knights are now 0-7-1 overall and in league play, while the Crusaders are 9-0-1 and 6-0.

For the Purple Knights, sophomore goalie Meaghan Leong (Cohasset, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) made her first collegiate start, stopping 17 shots in 30:13. Junior Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) made 14 saves in relief.

For the Crusaders, senior Stacey Hochkins (New Boston, Mich./Huron) netted three goals and two assists, senior Nicola Garat (Princeton, N.J./Lewis) added two goals and two assists, while junior Caroline English (Dorchester, Mass./Tabor Academy) chipped in a goal and a helper. Freshman goalie Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y./Loomis Chaffee) made 22 saves in 40 minutes to earn the win.

The Crusaders broke onto the board just 50 seconds into the contest with Hochkins netting the first goal before English converted 6:32 later. Hochkins was among three goal scorers during a 2:24 span of the second period, and the Purple Knights held the Crusaders scoreless for a 17:12 stretch before Hochkins completed her hat trick 7:26 into the third period. The hosts added one short-handed and power-play goal apiece in the final 5:19.

The Purple Knights next host the State University of New York at Potsdam on Friday at 7 p.m.