MANCHESTER, N.H. - The fourth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell to the No. 1 College of the Holy Cross, 3-0, in an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Tournament semifinal on Saturday at Saint Anselm College's Sullivan Arena. The Purple Knights drop to 3-21-1, while the Crusaders improve to 19-3-3 and advance to Sunday's championship game. The Purple Knights will face either the hosts or Sacred Heart University tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the consolation game.

Junior Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) finished with 38 saves for the Purple Knights, extending her single-season record to 845.  

Senior Stacey Hochkins (New Boston, Mich./Huron) led the Crusaders with one goal and one assist, while junior Caroline English (Dorchester, Mass./Tabor Academy) and freshman Chelsea Monahan (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) contributed one marker apiece. Senior Carly Dominick-Sobol (Syracuse, N.Y./National Sports Academy) worked the 23-save shutout.

The Crusaders got on the board first, 1:56 into the opening period, when Monahan found the back of the net, and then a little more than three minutes later English doubled the lead with a short-handed tally at 5:02. Stevens turned aside 16 shots during the first stanza.

The Purple Knights and the Crusaders battled through a scoreless second period, and Saint Michael's entered the third period trailing by two goals thanks in part to Stevens making 30 saves in the first 40 minutes. Hochkins extended the Crusaders' lead to 3-0 when she tallied 45 seconds into the third period. That would be the lone tally of the stanza, and the Purple Knights outshot Holy Cross 13-9 during the frame.