MANCHESTER, N.H. (February 22, 2020) – It was one for the ages on Saturday afternoon at Sullivan Arena, in the semifinal round of the New England Women's Hockey Alliance Tournament. The second-seeded Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team struck in the opening seven minutes. Third-seeded Saint Anselm evened things early in the third. Then, the two teams played more than a game-and-a-half worth of time without another goal. When all was eventually done, the game stood as the longest game in the history of women's college hockey. Unfortunately for the Ravens, it was Saint Anselm which finally ended things, as junior forward Madison Sprague tipped home a shot by junior defenseman Kathleen LeFebre at the 7:24 mark of the fifth overtime to lift the Hawks to a 2-1 win. Sophomore goaltender Emme Ostrander (Westborough, Mass.) bettered her own program record by more than 20 saves, as she finished with 79 saves in the loss, just 10 saves shy of the NCAA Division I record.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce sees its season come to an end at 21-11-0, as the team established a new program record for wins in a season in 2019-20. With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 16-13-3 and advances to Sunday's title game, where the Hawks will meet fourth-seeded Long Island. LIU upset top seed Sacred Heart earlier on Saturday, 3-0, behind a 41-save shutout from freshman goaltender Kenzie Harmison.

After more than 100 minutes of game time between goals, the game-winner came more than five hours after the game had begun. From the right point, junior forward Katy Meehan sent a pass along the blue line to LeFebre at the left point. LeFebre flipped a shot towards the net from there, and Sprague was able to get her stick to the puck at the top of the crease, despite being hassled by sophomore defenseman Kiki Doucette (Bridgewater, Mass.). Sprague was able to tip the puck between the pads of Ostrander to collect her fifth goal of the season and touch off a raucous celebration for Saint Anselm along the left-wing boards.

The goal came 7:24 into the fifth overtime, which meant the final game time stood at 147:24 and bettered the previous women's college hockey record for longest game by just under three minutes. The previous record of 144:32 belonged to the decisive third game of an ECAC quarterfinal series between RPI and Quinnipiac on Feb. 28, 2010, when RPI scored a 2-1 win 4:32 into the fifth overtime.

Earlier in the day -- much earlier in the day, when legs were still fresh and time still had meaning -- Franklin Pierce had opened the scoring with a power-play marker at the 6:34 mark of the first period. From the middle of the blue line, freshman defenseman Stefanie Caban (Fitchburg, Mass.) sent the puck into the left circle for freshman forward Katelyn Brightbill (Annville, Pa.). Brightbill found a seam to fire the puck across the zone and found senior defenseman Bridgette Prentiss (Buffalo, N.Y.) in the right circle. Prentiss' shot from there was blocked by the Saint Anselm defense, but the puck ricocheted right back to Brightbill in the left circle. Brightbill did not miss from there, as she buried her ninth goal of the campaign.

After a scoreless second, Saint Anselm evened things up at 5:48 of the third period, which ultimately set the stage for Sprague's heroics hours later. After winning possession along the left-wing boards, sophomore forward Erin Meyers threw a backhand pass out front for Meehan. Meehan took the pass at the bottom of the left circle, turned and fired a shot which beat Ostrander to the short side. Sophomore defenseman Kendra Currier added an assist as well, on Meehan's 15^th of the season.

Saint Anselm ultimately piled up an 81-45 advantage in shots on goal in the game. Franklin Pierce was whistled for the only four penalties of overtime, but was able to kill them all off. Saint Anselm finished 0-for-9 with the man-advantage.

Ostrander (16-11-0) was sublime in what would be the finale of her sophomore campaign. Between Meehan's third-period goal and Sprague's fifth-overtime winner, she made 51 saves, which alone would have been just four saves shy of her own program record of 55, set earlier this year against Maine. Add in the 28 saves she made prior to the Meehan goal, and Ostrander finished with 79 saves against 81 shots, but was left stuck with the loss anyway.

At the other end of the ice, senior Michaela Kane (9-8-1) had a praise-worthy night of her own, as she stopped 44 of 45 shots to pick up the win for Saint Anselm.

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 ice hockey apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (https://www.shopfpuravens.com).