HENNIKER, N.H. - First-year Jillian Witwicki (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) recorded a hat trick and classmate Katherine O'Brien (East Sandwich, Mass./Tilton School) scored the go-ahead goal with 2:45 left in regulation as the Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team beat New England College, 6-4, in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East action at Lee Clement Arena on Saturday. The Purple Knights, now unbeaten in their last three games, improve to 4-15-1 overall and 3-9-1 in the league, while the Pilgrims drop to 1-19-1 and 1-11-1.

In addition to Witwicki's three tallies and O'Brien's solo marker, Saint Michael's received one goal apiece from sophomores Athena Akiki (Allendale, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) and Erin Dwyer (Weymouth, Mass./Charles River). Dwyer also had two assists and Akiki had one, while junior Amanda Kempainen (Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers U19) and sophomores Carolyn Avery (Lexington, Mass./Lexington), Lauren Cuculino (Glen Mills, Pa./Quakers), Kayla Kee (Newton, Mass./Newton South) and Lauren Sullivan (Wakefield, Mass./Middlesex Islanders) each had one helper. Sophomore Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./The Rivers School) made six saves in 13:25 of relief to earn the win, while classmate Tina Frasca (Norwood, Mass./Tabor Academy) picked up 11 saves in the opening 46:35.

Sophomore Mackenzie Meegan (Phoenix, Ariz./Dallas Stars Elite) registered a hat trick of her own and had an assist, while junior Rachel Vigliano (Monroe, N.J./New Jersey Colonials) scored and dished two helpers. First-year Amanda McGoldrick (Natick, Mass./Boston Jr. Shamrocks) provided two assists with junior Lindsey Stewart (South Windsor, Conn./Canterbury School) and sophomore Tori Polehonka (Chino, Calif./Anaheim Lady Ducks) both having an assist. First-year Brooklyn Doak (Sherwood Park, Alberta/Sherwood Park) made 10 saves in 19:38 of relief to take the loss, while senior Lauren Hopps (Green Bay, Wis./Madison Capitals) stopped 27 shots after playing the full first two periods.

The Purple Knights hopped on the board just 2:28 into the game when Witwicki buried a rebound after her initial shot bounced off the post. Vigliano evened up the game just 1:44 later after she connected on a pass from Meegan and beat Frasca. After Cuculino saw her shot clang off the pipe, Meegan soon gave the hosts a 2-1 lead when she batted in a pass from behind the net at 17:42.

In a second period that saw Saint Michael's net three unanswered goals on 17 shots, the Purple Knights capitalized on the power play by scoring both times they were awarded with the player advantage. Just 2:36 into the stanza, Witwicki intercepted a pass and fired a shot that deflected off of Hopps' left shoulder and into the net. The Purple and Gold regained the lead when Dwyer punched in the rebound off her initial shot at 5:12. Akiki then stretched the visitors' lead to two goals when she tallied her first career goal at 14:30 with an assist from Kee. New England College ended the scoring streak and brought the score to 4-3 when Meegan potted a goal with only 44 seconds left in the period.

With Doak in net to start the third period, Meegan continued her scoring ways by tying the game with her third goal at 4:30 after burying the rebound from Polehonka's initial shot. After making one save following the Meegan goal, Frasca was relieved by Burke at the 6:35 mark. The Purple Knights then tested Doak with seven shots and killed off a 5-on-3 penalty before O'Brien accounted for the go-ahead goal with only 2:45 remaining. New England College pulled Doak for the extra skater, but it was Saint Michael's that benefited as Witwicki scored an empty net goal with 19 seconds to go.

Saint Michael's closes out the regular season with four home games, beginning next Friday at 4:40 p.m. against ECAC East foe Saint Anselm College.