SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team opened a New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) weekend series against Stonehill College on Friday with a 5-1 loss in Cairns Arena.
 
RECORDS

• Saint Michael's (1-8, 1-4 NEWHA), Stonehill (2-8, 2-3 NEWHA)

SAINT MICHAEL'S LEADERS

• First-year Julia Chedel (Haverhill, Mass./Kimball Union Academy), 1 goal
• Junior Annika Lavender (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata), 44 saves
• Junior Elisabeth Gerebi (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen), 5-for-8 faceoffs
• Junior Emersynn McGillis (Ottawa, Ontario/Nepean Jr. Wildcats), 3 blocked shots

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Junior Bailey Feeney, 2 goals
• Junior Gracie Sacca, 1 goal, 1 assist
• Graduate student Maeve Connolly, 2 assists
• First-year Reagan Whynot, 2 assists
• First-year Alexsa Caron, 26 saves

GAME FACTS

• Lavender pushed her career save total to 1,774, passing Annice Mason '06 (1,771) for third in program history.

THE ACTION

• Junior Maddie Achtyl put home a rebound from the low left circle with 57 seconds gone in the opening frame before Feeney picked Lavender's blocker corner from the slot to make it 2-0 with 9:18 gone.
• Late in the opening frame, Chedel gained the zone with speed and had a shot turned away by Caron's high blocker save.
• The Purple Knights were outshot only 14-12 in the second period, with Lavender making a handful of stellar stops, including a save out front on Achtyl at 10:39 and a pair of pad saves in the final minute.
• In between, Feeney again tucked a shot into the corner from the slot, with 13:39 gone.
• Sophomore Alizée LeBlanc (Dieppe, New Brunswick/Ridley College) had a pair of point-blank shots from along the blue line denied by Caron 3:38 into the third period.
• Lavender kept it 3-0 by denying a penalty shot at 9:21, but Sacca got behind the defense thanks to Whynot's stretch pass to add to the Stonehill advantage at 10:04.
• LeBlanc nearly broke the shutout at 14:05, with the netminder covering her shot along the goal line.
• Sophomore Peyton Wise tallied at 17:14 before Chedel picked a corner from the blue line 50 seconds later to put the Purple Knights on the board.

NEXT SAINT MICHAEL'S GAME

• Saturday vs. Stonehill, 3 p.m.