SHELTON, Conn. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team opened its regular season with a 7-0 loss to Sacred Heart University on Saturday at the Sports Center of Connecticut, as the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) counterparts played a non-league game.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (0-1), Sacred Heart (1-2)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• Sophomore Carissa Mudrak (Duluth, Minn./Gentry Academy), 25 saves in 40:00
• Senior Gabriella Dicomitis (Warwick, R.I./Williston Northampton School), 9 saves in 20:00 of relief
• First-year Tessa Mucha (Tully, N.Y./Syracuse Valley Eagles), 11-for-20 faceoffs
• Junior Maeghan Kennard (Hamlin, N.Y./Niagara Jr. Purple Eagles), 10-for-21 faceoffs
• Senior Jenna Harrison (Kitchener, Ontario/Wellesley), 7-for-15 faceoffs, 3 blocked shots

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Anna Klein, 1 goal, 2 assists, 13-for-25 faceoffs
• Sophomore Paige McNeil, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Junior Sophie Lupone, 1 goal, +3, 7-for-14 faceoffs
• Senior Kelly Solak, 1 goal, +3
• First-year Carly Greene, 20 saves

GAME FACTS

• The Purple Knights played the earliest regular-season opener in program history, easily surpassing the 2019-20 squad (Oct. 18).
• Saint Michael's had last played a countable contest on Feb. 19, 2020, during the first round of the NEWHA Tournament.
• Fourteen women - including 13 of the 19 skaters - made their regular-season college debuts, with the Purple Knights bringing aboard two classes totaling 19 student-athletes since the 2019-20 season.
• Saint Michael's went 28-for-58 on faceoffs, nearly breaking even, while blocking 14 shots to the Pioneers' nine.

THE ACTION

• Mudrak kept the Pioneers off the board for more than 12 minutes to begin the game, stopping the first 13 shots sent her way.
• Sacred Heart broke through at 12:55, with McNeil converting a pass from Klein. Lupone doubled the lead 1:05 later, and the hosts led 3-0 by the time Solak scored at 16:48.
• The Purple Knights made a late push to score in the final 90 seconds of the opening period, but sophomore Jenna Hoops (Woodbury, Minn./Saint Paul United) and first-year Lexi Bonfe (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) both had shots stopped by Greene, while sophomore Mikaela Langbacka (Lorton, Va./Washington Pride) and first-year Grace Canterbury (Eagle River, Alaska/Shattuck-Saint-Mary's School) both saw shots blocked.
• First-year Kerryn O'Connell added to the hosts' lead at 2:28 of the second frame, and first-year Nicole Bessinger and junior Alexa Ocel later scored 1:38 apart to make it 6-0 by 14:02, with Ocel's tally on the power play.
• Saint Michael's held the Pioneers to only one goal over the final 25:58, with Mudrak not facing a shot during the remainder of the second period and Dicomitis allowing just a Klein power-play marker at 4:41 of the third stanza in her 20 minutes between the pipes.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Oct. 15 at Post University, 8 p.m.
• The Purple Knights open NEWHA play that night.