WINTHROP, Mass. (2/7/23) – After earning a pair of hard fought victories this past week, the Franklin Pierce women's ice hockey team had a pair of players named New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) as weekly award recipients on Tuesday afternoon. For their efforts, sophomore forward Mikayla Kelley (Otsego, Minn.) and freshman goaltender Jill Hertl (Highland Park, Ill.) were each selected as the NEWHA's Player and Goaltender of the Week, respectively.

For Kelley, it is her first time this season receiving the Player of the Week honor, and the second time in her collegiate career (prev. 2/22/22). For Hertl, it is her second time this season receiving Goaltender of the Week, having also claimed NEWHA Rookie of the Week four times thus far.

Kelley has been a driving force as of late for Pierce, posting back-to-back two-goal performances against Sacred Heart en route to a total of four goals and one assist for five points (4-1-5) last week. Over her past five games, the Raven sophomore has totaled ten points, having scored six goals with four assists (6-4-10) along with a +7 rating.  This season, Kelley currently ranks 3^rd on the team with 21 points scored (12-9-21).

Hertl received the nod in net for both games this past week, claiming the win in each after making a combined 62 saves on 64 shots faced. In addition to her 2-0 record, the freshman netminder rounded out a 1.00 goals against average and a .969 save percentage against the Pioneers, improving her overall season record to 11-8-1. From a conference standpoint, Hertl's 1.96 goals against average currently ranks 2^nd best in the NEWHA, and leads all NCAA DI women freshman goaltenders.  

Women's hockey will face-off with Post University for a weekend series this coming Friday (2/10) and Saturday (2/11), with the opening contest beginning at 2:00 p.m.