WORCESTER, Mass. - The Holy Cross women's ice hockey team hosted Assumption for a non-conference mid-week matchup at Assumption on Tuesday night. The Crusaders took a swift 5-0 win over the Greyhounds.
Holy Cross got on the board first with a back handed goal by sophomore forward Alexia Moreau at 9:09 in the first period. She was assisted by senior forward Millie Sirum. The Crusaders struck again with junior forward Madison Michals netting her first goal of the season right off of the faceoff with less than two minutes left in the period. She was assisted by freshman forward Emily Crovo and Holy Cross ended the opening period with a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore defenseman Casey Borgiel kicked off the second period with a goal at 7:11 assisted by forwards sophomore Alexis Perry and freshman Reghan Chadwick. Sirum went to work and took advantage of a breakaway situation to net one on her own two minutes later. The Crusaders ended the second period with a 4-0 lead.
A strong third period on the attack for Holy Cross was finally rewarded at 17:48 when Chadwick earned the fifth goal of the night burying the puck into the top right corner of the net. Great puck movement that led to the goal was from senior forward Bryn Saarela and senior defenseman Grace Johnson. Holy Cross took the 5-0 win over the Greyhounds with sophomore goalie Brooke Loranger earning her first career win and first career shutout on the night. Loranger racked up 19 saves in the competition.
"Much much better as the game went on, and I think that's the way. When we play well, we play defensively first and then we build from the back end. The first period we felt like we needed to grow a little bit more on some of our breakouts, and I thought we did a fantastic job in the second period getting that going," said head coach Katie Lachapelle. "That third line, it took them a little while to get rewarded on the score sheet, but it seemed like line three today was really buzzing from the start. That group, they just always play so hard, and they're very physical. They play heavy on pucks and they all got absolutely amazing shots when they can get those shots off. So for them to get rewarded was nice, but they're always carrying a lot of momentum for us and a lot of zone time. "
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Holy Cross struck first with a goal by Moreau at 9:09 in the first period. Michals scored at 18:38 to end the first with a 2-0 lead over the Greyhounds
- A dominant second period for the Crusaders with goals scored by Borgiel at 7:11 and Sirum at 9:51 for the 4-0 advantage
- Holy Cross tabbed one more goal by Chadwick at 17:48 in the third period. The Crusaders took the 5-0 win in regulation
- Holy Cross led Assumption 80-35 in shot attempts
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE:
- Sirum and Chadwick each had an assist and a goal in the game
- Borgiel and Michals each netted their first goals of the year
- Moreau scored her sixth goal of the season
- Crovo had her second assist on the year
- Perry had her fourth assist of the season
- Saarela and Johnson added another one assist each to their stats this season
- Loranger made 19 saves on the outing earning her first career win and shutout in her performance
UP NEXT:
Holy Cross hit the road for the remainder of 2023 returning to the Hart Center Rink in the new year. The Crusaders kick off their road trip with a weekend away at New Hampshire and Maine. Holy Cross first face off with the Wildcats on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the Whittemore Center at Key Auto Group Complex.
PLAYER QUOTES
"We had a really good game. We started right away and were really excited to play this game. I thought every line contributed on offense and we all had really good chances. Our defense played extremely well and gave the puck really well. We have two big games coming up and we are really excited for the weekend." #11 Alexia Moreau
"It was a great team effort. Started off with Brooke making some big saves and once we got some more shots on net, they ended up going in and we finished strong. Great team win." #16 Madison Michals
"I think we picked it up after the first period. We kind of got into the flow of things after the first period, which was strong. Overall, it was a good game. So we're ready to beat UNH on Friday and Maine on Saturday, so it'll be a good weekend. Tonight was a strong team win." #20 Millie Sirum
"I think our team played really well. We really picked it up throughout the game. It was kind of a hard one to stay in, just having shots so far apart and spread out, but I am thankful that we got the win in the end and I got the shutout. I'm thankful I finally got that first win under my belt and am excited to go out and keep going." #30 Brooke Loranger
"I thought the team came out harder in the second and third periods. We started getting momentum and just a lot of shots and I hope we can use these two wins for the rest of the year and crank out some more 'W's'." #7 Casey Borgiel
