WINCHENDON, Mass. (January 22, 2022) -- Friday night's shutout was so much fun the Franklin Pierce University women's ice hockey team went ahead and did it again on Saturday night at Jason Ritchie Ice Arena. Another sound defensive effort held Sacred Heart to just 21 shots, all of which were turned aside by sophomore goaltender Suzette Faucher (Middleton, Wis.). Sophomore Brooke Remington (Scandia, Minn.) potted the only goal the home team would need midway through the second, as the Ravens finished off a weekend sweep of the Pioneers with a 2-0 win in New England Women's Hockey Alliance play.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-8-1 (7-3-0 NEWHA) and notches the 150^th win in program history, in just the team's 10^th season, one of which was dramatically curtailed due to the pandemic. With the loss, Sacred Heart falls to 10-10-1 (5-4-1 NEWHA). It also marked the first weekend sweep for the Ravens over the Pioneers in eight years, dating to a pair of Franklin Pierce wins in Winchendon on Jan. 24-25, 2014.

Sacred Heart posted a 9-7 edge in shots in the first period, but the Ravens turned on the jets from there. Franklin Pierce piled up a 16-7 advantage in the second and then put the hammer down in the third, to the tune of a 17-5 margin, outshooting the Pioneers by a combined 33-12 over the final 40 minutes.

The Ravens still struggled to solve Sacred Heart senior netminder Frankie Sanchez, and did so just once on the night, on a second-period power play. Graduate student Katerina Dajia (Aurora, Ontario) got the play started, as she chipped the puck out of her own end, which jump-started a 3-on-2 rush the other way. Leading the rush on the right side, freshman Geno Hendrickson (Warroad, Minn.) gained the blue line and centered for Remington, who one-touched it right back to Hendrickson in the right circle. Hendrickson held for a beat, then slipped the puck back to Remington at the top of the crease to complete the give-and-go-and-give-again. Remington was able to make one final move and slip the puck around Sanchez for her eighth goal of the campaign, at 12:24.

Sacred Heart really struggled to generate offensive chances to get the game level, though five of their seven second-period shots came following the Remington goal. The Pioneers were stuck in neutral in the third though, when they were held without a shot for the first six minutes and saw the majority of their offensive output come in the span of just a few seconds, as sophomore Paige McNeil was denied thrice in a row by Faucher amid a flurry out front at 6:38. A pair of shots after the 12-minute mark would be all Sacred Heart could manage the rest of the way.

The Pioneers pulled Sanchez for an extra attacker inside the final two minutes, but could muster only one blocked shot attempt before Franklin Pierce iced things with an empty-net tally. Sophomore Emilie Prive (Morrisville, Vt.) deflected an attempted pass back to the point on the left side and set off the other way. She gained the blue line on the right wing and salted away her eighth of the year at 19:15.

Faucher (7-2-1) stopped all 21 shots on her goal to post her fourth shutout of the season. Sanchez (7-10-1) was a tough-luck loser, as she finished with 38 saves against 39 shots in the Sacred Heart crease.

The Ravens have another high-importance NEWHA series on tap next weekend, with a home-and-home against intrastate rival Saint Anselm. Franklin Pierce will host the Hawks on Friday, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m., before making the return trip to Manchester on Saturday, Jan. 29, for a 4 p.m. puck drop.