SHELTON, Conn. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team lost at Division I Sacred Heart University, 5-0, on Friday evening in the Sports Center of Connecticut, the Purple Knights' third straight game in the facility after facing Post University last weekend. Saint Michael's is 5-20, while the Pioneers improved to 23-6-2.

Junior Nicole Talcott (Colchester, Vt./Rice Memorial Prep) made 39 saves to improve her season total to 746, passing Melanie Cullen '09 (736) to take over third place in program history. Senior Jillian Witwicki (Danvers, Mass./Pingree School) was 8-for-14 on faceoffs, while classmate Kaitlyn Wurzer (Lee, N.H./Berwick Academy) finished 8-for-18. First-year Riley Nichols (Gilford, N.H./Tilton School) went 3-of-6.

Senior Taylor Moreland, junior Savannah Hersey and sophomore Jayne Lewis all recorded one goal and one assist for Sacred Heart, which entered the night first in NCAA Division I/II in scoring margin (+2.93) and second in scoring average (4.40). Senior Brittany Smith and sophomore Maddie Bishop also scored, and senior Devan Kane made 13 saves.

Talcott made 12 of her saves in a scoreless first period. The Purple Knights had a good opportunity early, as senior Amanda Donahoe (Wakefield, Mass./Saint Mary's) fired a shot that Kane denied around the five-minute mark before classmate Ashley Dineen (Somers, N.Y./Canterbury School) had a follow-up bid blocked. Talcott registered four consecutive saves at one point that led to ensuing faceoffs, with the Pioneers winning each to extend their possession during the middle stages of the period. Junior Haley Payne hit the post after the 15-minute mark, and senior Katherine O'Brien (East Sandwich, Mass./Tilton School) was denied by Kane in the final minute.

Sacred Heart broke the game open with three goals in the first 8:16 of the second stanza. Lewis scored 29 seconds into the frame off of a pass from Payne before Talcott made seven stops in the ensuing six minutes, with Dineen ripping a shot that Kane denied in the middle of the sequence. Bishop made it 2-0 at 6:25, and Moreland scored at 8:16, just 10 seconds into a 4-on-4 situation.

Talcott turned away the next 10 shots, including the final seven of the second period, to keep it 3-0, while Wurzer and sophomore Alissa Sullivan (Hingham, Mass./Hingham) both blocked one shot. Hersey added to the lead 3:53 into the final stanza, and Smith scored on the power play at 12:58. Following a Wurzer faceoff win at 15:41, sophomore Arianna Boscia (Cranston, R.I./La Salle Academy) had a bid blocked by Moreland before first-year Maddie Gervais' (Glastonbury, Conn./East Catholic) shot off the rebound was saved by Kane. O'Brien also had an attempt in the final minute of the contest denied.

The Purple Knights conclude the weekend series tomorrow at 4 p.m., completing their regular-season slate in the process.