Women’s Ice Hockey Rolls at Saint Michael’s in Weekend Opener, 3-0

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (January 25, 2019) – Two goals in the first and another in the third were more than enough on Friday night for the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team, which rolled to a 3-0 win on the road at Saint Michael's. Sophomore forward Nicole Amato (Billerica, Mass.) scored twice and freshman goaltender Emme Ostrander (Westborough, Mass.) posted a 19-save shutout in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance victory for the Ravens at Cairns Arena.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 14-8-0 (5-6-0 NEWHA), while Saint Michael's falls to 4-11-1 (2-6-1 NEWHA). The two teams will wrap up their season series on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Cairns Arena.

Amato struck twice in the final four minutes of the first period to give the Ravens all the offense they would need on Friday night. First, she finished off her team-leading 13^th of the season at the right post on the power-play at the 16:19 mark. Junior forward Meg Gilbride (Braintree, Mass.) provided a backhanded pass across the crease to set things up, while junior defenseman Katie Neuburger (Fayetteville, N.Y.) added an assist as well.

Just 2:41 later, at the 19-minute mark, Amato forced a turnover inside the blue line and immediately capitalized. She put home her finish on the glove side for an unassisted tally.

After a scoreless second period, the Ravens added an insurance marker at 13:38 of the third period to create the 3-0 final. In her own defensive end, sophomore forward Marissa Massaro (Brockton, Mass.) won a faceoff back to junior defenseman Delaney Guimont (Bedford, N.H.). Guimont went behind her own net and then sent a pass into the neutral zone to spring sophomore forward Haley Parker (Londonderry, N.H.) on a rush down the right side. Parkers' shot went off the crossbar and in from the right circle for her 13^th goal of the year.

Ostrander (9-4-0) stopped all 19 shots on her goal to post her fourth shutout of the season and pick up the win in the crease for Franklin Pierce. At the other end of the ice, junior Vika Simons (3-6-0) piled up 41 saves against 44 shots, but suffered the loss for Saint Michael's anyway. 

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (https://www.fpuravens.com). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (https://www.fpuravens.com/store).