MANCHESTER, N.H. - The fifth-seeded Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team fell to No. 1 College of the Holy Cross, 9-2, on Saturday during a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) Open Tournament semifinal in Saint Anselm College's Sullivan Arena.

The Purple Knights moved to 3-3-1 in their last seven games, going to 6-18-2 overall, and will oppose either No. 2 Saint Anselm or No. 3 Franklin Pierce University in Sunday's consolation game at 1 p.m. The Crusaders, who carry the third-best scoring average among Division I programs, are 23-3 after winning for the 19th time in 20 games since mid-November.

Senior Amanda Kempainen (Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers U19) and junior Erin Dwyer (Weymouth, Mass./Archbishop Williams) both scored for Saint Michael's, and classmate Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./The Rivers School) made 36 saves in the opening 42:11. Junior Erica Ragazzo (Mansfield, Mass./Ursuline Academy) had four stops in relief. Sophomore Jillian Witwicki (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) went 10-of-12 on faceoffs.

Dwyer's 10 goals this season tie for ninth in school history, while Kempainen netted her 22nd career goal, breaking a tie for eighth at the College. Burke came up with her ninth 35-save outing of the year, as her 650 stops this season are good for the fifth-highest total in program annals.

Sophomore Kara Violette scored twice and had an assist for Holy Cross, junior Elizabeth Scala potted a goal and added two helpers, and six others scored once. Classmate Erin Hall picked up two assists, and sophomore Tessie Salatas moved to 13-0 behind five saves.

Burke registered 17 of her saves in the opening period, holding the Crusaders off the board until more than 11 minutes had elapsed. Junior Carolyn Avery (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) won the opening faceoff, but Holy Cross players fired off the first eight shots of the game before Witwicki had an attempt denied. Burke picked up her 12th save just past the 11-minute mark, turning away Scala, but senior Mackenzie Boardman deposited the rebound at 11:15. That kicked off a stretch of three goals in 5:13, as Scala scored at 15:07 and first-year Julie Matthias 1:21 after that.

The Saint Michael's netminder came up with 18 more stops in the second period, denying three early chances before Violette scored with 1:05 gone. The teams both scored once during the remainder of the stanza, with Holy Cross getting its goal on the game's only power play, with junior Izzy Bagi tallying at the 12-minute mark. Late in the frame, Kempainen converted touches by Avery and sophomore Amanda Donahoe (Wakefield, Mass./Saint Mary's), trimming the deficit to 5-1 at 17:23.

The Crusaders scored four more times in the third, with senior Taylor McGee and first-year Sam Girard tallying in the opening 2:11. Violette added her second goal at 9:04, and sophomore Kelsey Goostrey's marker at 16:54 completed the Holy Cross offensive output. Dwyer cracked the scoring column 1:19 later, with junior Lauren Cuculino (Glen Mills, Pa./Quakers) assisting.