SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The third-seeded College of the Holy Cross and top-seeded Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey teams both recorded semifinal victories during the opening day of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Open Tournament hosted by fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College at Cairns Arena on Saturday.

Holy Cross beat second-seeded Saint Anselm College, 3-1, in the opening contest, while Franklin Pierce earned a 6-1 win against Saint Michael's in the second game. Saint Michael's, now 5-19-1, plays in Sunday's consolation game at 12:30 p.m. against Saint Anselm, which is 17-6-2. Franklin Pierce, which improved to 20-5-1 and Holy Cross, now 17-7-3, tangle in the championship contest at 3:30 p.m.

First-year Jillian Witwicki (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) scored for Saint Michael's with help from junior Emily Loebs (Acton, Mass./Minuteman Lady Flames). Sophomore starting goalie Tina Frasca (Norwood, Mass./Tabor Academy) made 37 saves in 54:25, while classmate Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./The Rivers School) stopped four shots in 5:35 of relief.

Junior Sarah Sheils (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) scored twice, while classmate Karsyn Baker (Detroit, Mich./Belle Tire) registered one goal and one assist for Franklin Pierce. Junior Bryana Harron (Woburn, Mass./Woburn) and sophomores Lanie Matsumoto (Fort Collins, Colo./Colorado Tigers) and Alysha Raimo (Fitchburg, Mass./Plymouth State) each scored a goal as well. Sophomore starting goalie Noelle White (Corona, Calif./Colorado Tigers) had 23 saves in 56:21, while first-year Madison Murray (Berkeley, Mich./Honeybaked) made one save in the closing 3:37.

At the 6:30 mark of the first period, Baker skated in uncontested but her backhanded shot was stuffed by Frasca's left pad. The Ravens, who led shots, 19-8, in the period, jumped on the board when Matsumoto buried the puck at 16:17 after a rebound from sophomore Nina Danforth's (Stratford, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) shot. Franklin Pierce wasted little time with potting the next goal, as Baker netted a tally just 1:23 later for her 16th goal of the season.

The second period had a combined three goals scored on 26 shots. Witwicki got the Purple Knights on the board when she snapped a shot from the top of the slot that found the left side of the net at 12:31. The Ravens responded 45 seconds later as Sheils netted a power-play goal. Franklin Pierce then extended the lead to 4-1 after Raimo's shot from the right circle beat Frasca at 18:43. The third period favored the Ravens, who posted two more goals on 16 shots. Sheils registered her second goal of the game at 5:24 when her low slot shot sneaked into the right side of the net. Harron scored Franklin Pierce's sixth and final goal at 14:25 after her left circle shot found its way past Frasca's blocker. With 29 seconds remaining, Franklin Pierce was awarded a penalty shot after Saint Michael's was called for a skater covering the puck in the crease. Sheils, who was aiming for a hat trick, took the opportunity but sent the shot wide right.

Holy Cross advanced to the final round for the seventh straight season, and 10th overall, after scoring three unanswered goals in the third period. Senior Nicole Giannino (Bay Shore, N.Y./National Sports Academy), sophomore Erin Hall (Pembroke, Mass./Southfield) and first-year Kara Violette (Biddeford, Maine/Saint Mark's) each scored a goal for Holy Cross. Senior Alexandra Stevenson (Norwood, N.Y./Loomis Chaffe) made 31 saves for the win. Sophomore Alex Starzyk (Enfield, Conn./Williston Northampton) scored for Saint Anselm, while senior Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn./Ohio State) collected 22 saves.

In a first period that saw Saint Anselm held a 13-3 edge in shots during a scoreless first period. Starzyk had the game's first prime scoring opportunity when shooting on an open net after Stevenson had fallen, but the shot was blocked by a Holy Cross defender at 3:15. The Crusaders managed just a trio of shots in the opening stanza, all coming from senior Mary Klimasewiski (Colchester, Conn./Saint George's School). The stalemate lasted into the second period before Starzyk collected a rebound off of junior Alex Kazmer's (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) shot and buried home the puck at 18:26. After two periods, Saint Anselm led in shots, 24-13.

After being held scoreless through two periods, Holy Cross' offense came to life as the Crusaders netted three goals on 12 shots. Violette started the scoring when she fired a shot from the top of the right circle that trickled through Brown's legs just 1:54 into the stanza. The Crusaders then went ahead after Hall snapped a shot through traffic to the left side of the net after picking off a clearing attempt by Saint Anselm at 7:05. The lead then extended to 3-1 after Giannino streaked up the left side boards and wristed a shot to the blocker side of Brown at 12:52.The Hawks managed three shots during the remainder of the period, including two that went on net after Brown was pulled for the extra attacker with 2:03 left to play.