SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Division I Sacred Heart University women's ice hockey team won both games this weekend at Cairns Arena to claim the 12th annual DoubleTree Ice Hockey Classic, wrapping up its second consecutive title. The Pioneers downed host Saint Michael's College, 3-1, on Saturday after Hamilton College won the day's first contest over Plymouth State University, 4-1.

Sacred Heart 3, Saint Michael's 1

Senior Athena Akiki (Allendale, N.J./New Jersey Rockets) scored the lone goal for 0-12 Saint Michael's, with classmate Tori Hubbard (Saint Albans, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) and first-year Jordan Monbouquette (Wayland, Mass./Lawrence Academy) contributing the assists. Senior Tina Frasca (Norwood, Mass./Tabor Academy) made 45 saves in the loss, marking her seventh career 40-save performance.

For the 10-6-1 Pioneers, senior Amie Varano (Duxbury, Mass./Notre Dame Academy) recorded a goal and an assist, while junior Brittany Smith (Manchester, Mass./Manchester Essex) and sophomore Haley Payne (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) each scored once. Junior Taylor Moreland (Kenosha, Wis./Milwaukee Jr. Admirals) went 22-for-28 on faceoffs. Sophomore Sarah Erban (Attleboro, Mass./Tilton School) made 33 saves in the win.

A scoreless first period was highlighted by 14 Frasca saves, five of which came during a successful penalty kill for the Purple Knights. The Pioneers created a scoring chance on a 2-on-1 when senior Teagan Ketchum (Averill Park, N.Y./Albany Academy) sent a pass to Smith in the slot, but Smith's quick snap shot was denied with a pad save by Frasca as she slid pipe to pipe.

Saint Michael's fired nine shots in the first nine minutes of the second period but could not beat Erban. Sacred Heart opened the scoring at 11:14, when Varano let go of a shot from left half-wall that redirected off a crowd of skaters in front and past Frasca during a 5-on-3 power play. The Pioneers doubled their lead just over a minute later, as Payne tallied with an assist from junior Carly Radovich (Hopkinton, Mass./Vermont Academy) at 12:37 during another woman advantage. Late in the period, senior Erin Dwyer (Weymouth, Mass./Archbishop Williams) created a scoring chance, as she gained an angle on her defender entering the zone and fired backhanded from the bottom of the left circle that was denied by Erban with a pad save with 2:25 remaining.

Early in the third the Purple Knights finally beat Erban, as Monbouquette sent a pass from the right corner to Akiki, who finished from the low slot to make the score 2-1 at the 1:44 mark. The Pioneers reestablished their two-goal lead minutes later, as Smith beat a defender near the right wall and carried the puck in front before lifting the puck up over Frasca's glove at 4:03. In the remainder of the third the Purple Knights tested Erban nine times but were unable to cut into Sacred Heart's lead.

Up next for the Purple Knights is a road contest against Sacred Heart on Friday at 7 p.m.

Hamilton 4, Plymouth State 1

For the 6-3 Continentals, senior Katie Parkman (Stratford, Prince Edward Island/Brewster Academy), sophomores Olivia Hawes (Spring, Texas/The Woodlands) and Andrea Rockey (Morgantown, W.Va./Shady Side Academy), and first-year Michaela Giuttari (Warwick, R.I./Loomis Chaffee School) each scored once while sophomore Jaime Meroz (Wilmington, Ill./Laurel Springs School) turned away 10 shots. For the 5-7-1 Panthers, first-year Allie Louie (Mount Laurel, N.J./Princeton Tiger Lillies) scored once while sophomore Emelie Lindqvist (Gullerasen, Sweden/Sandvikens IK) made 33 saves.

At the 7:00 mark of the first period, first-year Sarah Fisher (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) sent a shot from the low slot that was denied by Lindqvist with a sliding pad save, one of 17 stops she made in the period. Hamilton opened the scoring late in a back-and-forth second period, as Rockey gathered the loose puck at her offensive blue line and rushed past two defenders before deking to the backhand for a finish to the top right corner at 15:20. Half a minute later, senior Sara Taffe (Maple Grove, Minn./Benilde-Saint Margaret's School) sent a shot from the point into a crowd in front of goal, and Hawes was able to redirect it into the bottom left corner at 15:54.

Early in the third period, sophomore Taegan Blackwell (Fairfield, Conn./Choate Rosemary Hall) sent an ice-level shot wide of the post that was gathered off the boards by Giuttari, and Guittari quickly turned and fired a shot off of Lindqvist's skate and into the net to put the Continentals up 3-0 at 3:48. Parkman tallied a power-play marker just 33 seconds later, as she gathered her own rebound on one knee and sent a backhanded shot between her legs and in. The Panthers answered quickly, as Louie sent a high wrist shot from the point that sailed cleanly through traffic in front and into the top right corner at 6:06. The Continental defense did not allow another shot on goal in the remainder of the contest.

12th Annual DoubleTree Ice Hockey Classic

Team Champion
Sacred Heart

Most Valuable Player
Olivia Bryant, Sacred Heart

All-Tournament Team
Olivia Bryant, Sacred Heart
Devan Kane, Sacred Heart
Olivia Hawes, Hamilton
Andrea Rockey, Hamilton
Shannon Hickey, Plymouth State
Athena Akiki, Saint Michael's