WORCESTER, Mass. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team tied Division I Sacred Heart University, 1-1, for the second time this season on Sunday during the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Tournament consolation game at the College of the Holy Cross' Hart Center before settling for fourth place after the Pioneers won in the fourth round of a shootout, 1-0.

The Purple Knights, who played to a scoreless tie against the Pioneers during their DoubleTree Ice Hockey Classic last month, finished the year 3-19-4, but were 2-5-2 in their final nine games after a 1-14-2 start. Sacred Heart is 3-15-7. The teams met for the fifth straight year in the third-place game, with the Pioneers claiming third in 2010 thanks to a shootout following a tie, but the Purple and Gold countered with a 9-2 win in 2011. Sacred Heart won the 2012 and 2013 match-ups by a total of just three goals.

Sophomore defender Emily Loebs (Acton, Mass./Minuteman Lady Flames) scored her third goal of the season for Saint Michael's, posting five points in her final five games. Juniors Maire Bartkus (Acton, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) and Fernanda Saavedra (Miami, Fla./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) dished assists. First-year Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./Assabet Valley Patriots) recorded 35 saves for her seventh 30-save outing of the year before keeping the Pioneers scoreless during the shootout until the fourth round. She was later named to the all-tournament team. Senior Macey Thomas (Amherst, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) concluded her career with her 103rd appearance wearing Purple and Gold, tying a program mark held by Jess Tourville '09 and Meghan Sweezey '10.

Junior Melissa Robbins (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North) tallied a power-play goal in the third period for Sacred Heart before netting the deciding marker in the shootout, while senior Mandy Montgomery (Grand Ledge, Mich./Saint Norbert) had 19 stops.

Burke recorded 11 saves in the opening period and 14 more in the second to keep the Pioneers off the board, including making a pair of stops during a Sacred Heart power play early in the second. Loebs broke the deadlock with 7:48 gone in the second stanza, beginning the play by passing from the corner out to the point for Bartkus, who made a blue-line dish to Saavedra. With Loebs cutting to the net through the high slot, Saavedra threaded a pass, and Loebs picked the upper left corner of the net.

A Pioneer hit the post late in the frame, and a Purple Knight followed suit four minutes into the third, just before Sacred Heart found the equalizer. Twenty-seven seconds into a Saint Michael's penalty, Robbins struck at the 5:01 mark. Both goalies made two saves during a Purple Knight power play later in the period, and each had one stop during overtime, sending the teams to the shootout following the 1-1 draw.

None of the six shooters scored during the first three rounds of the shootout, necessitating sudden death. After Saint Michael's missed its first try in the fourth round, Robbins beat Burke to give her team third place in the tournament.