BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The fourth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell to No. 1 Saint Anselm College, 6-1, in a semifinal match-up at the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Tournament on Saturday at Sacred Heart University's Wonderland of Ice. The Purple Knights drop to 4-20-1 after the defeat, while the Hawks improve to 18-4-4 and advance to Sunday's championship game. Saint Michael's will play either the hosts or The College of the Holy Cross in the consolation game tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Junior Courtney Burnett (Deep River, Ontario/Northwood School) scored for Saint Michael's, while senior Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) posted 30 saves, moving her career saves total to 2,484, and surpassing her own single-season record for saves. She recorded 884 last year and now has 895 this winter.

Senior Rosemarie Giarrusso (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./North American Hockey Academy), junior Michelle Conway (Medford, Mass./Tabor Academy) and first-year Alex Kazmer (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) all tallied a goal and an assist for Saint Anselm, while junior Andi Foss (Elko, Minn./The Blake School) and sophomore Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich./Chippewa Valley) finished with four assists and two assists, respectively. The Hawks received a goal from three other players, and junior Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn./Ohio State) made seven stops in net.

Kazmer put the Hawks up 1-0 with a tally 5:21 into the opening period before senior Ciara Petry (Poolesville, Md./Washington Pride) scored at 6:32 to double her team's advantage. First-year Sarah Geisinger (Willoughby, Ohio/Lake Catholic) extended the Saint Anselm lead, making the score 3-0 with a goal that came 5:35 into the second frame. The Purple Knights found their way onto the scoreboard when Burnett lit the lamp with 9:22 remaining in the second to pull her team back to a two-goal deficit. Saint Michael's was awarded a power play three seconds later, but the Saint Anselm penalty killers allowed only shot to keep the score 3-1.

Conway and junior Courtney Winters (Swampscott, Mass./Saint Mary's) tallied with 6:32 and 4:29 left in the second period, respectively, to give the Hawks a 5-1 advantage. Giarrusso converted a power-play chance 1:19 into the third period to extend the Saint Anselm lead to 6-1. The Purple Knights tested Brown with three shots in the final frame, but couldn't cut into the Hawks' lead.