SLU Men & Women’s Hockey Finish a Strong Season
Appleton Arena will lie quiet this spring, as both the Men’s and Women’s hockey teams were eliminated from the ECAC tournament this weekend, ending their seasons.
The women fell to rival Clarkson on Saturday in the semifinals by a score of 4-2. Clarkson’s Rhyen McGill converted on a 5-on-3 power play to give the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead, just shy of three minutes into the game. The Saints kept the game tight, however, drawing to within one goal on two separate occasions. The first came in the midst of a busy second period. Skyler Podvey ’21 rallied to make the score 2-1, but Clarkson struck again just 24 seconds later to reestablish their two-goal lead.
It was Kennedy Marchment ’18 that struck next, netting a power-play goal midway through the third period. Marchment had nine of the team’s 21 shots on goal in her final game with St. Lawrence. Trailing 3-2, the Saints pulled goaltender Sonjia Shelley ’19 for the final two and a half minutes of the game but were unable to secure the equalizer. Clarkson scored an empty net goal with just eight seconds remaining in the game, bringing the final score to 4-2. Shelley had 24 saves in the loss, finishing out the season with a career-high four shutouts and a .925 save percentage.
In addition to Marchment, forwards Hannah Miller, Michelle Alonardo, and defense Amanda McClure will all graduate this spring. The four seniors leave behind an impressive 82-44-19 record that included ECAC final four appearances in three consecutive years and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2017. Next year, the Saints will look towards potent forwards Justine Reyes ’19 and Rachel Smith ’19 to generate offense, while the strong trio of goaltenders will continue to shine.
Meanwhile, the men lost 2-1 on Sunday to end a three-game series against Dartmouth in the first round of the ECAC playoffs. Dartmouth scored first on a 5-on-3 power play at 6:33 in the second period, but the Saints would find the tying goal before the end of the frame. Jacob Pritchard ’19 nailed home a one-timer off a feed from Alex Gilmour ’20, with a little over a minute to play in the period. However, Dartmouth scored again two minutes into the third period, making the final score of both the game and the series 2-1.
The Saints had extended the best-of-three contest just the day before, with a 4-2 win following Friday’s loss. On Saturday, Dartmouth took the lead early in the first period but Cade Gleekel ’21 notched his first collegiate goal to tie the score at 1-1. Mike Marnell ’18 gave the Saints the lead in the second period, converting on a breakaway. With 31 seconds remaining in the period, Dartmouth tallied, starting the final period with a score of 2-2. Ryan Lough ’18 secured the game-winner and Keenan Suthers ’21 added an insurance goal to finish the game 4-2. Goaltender Arthur Brey had a strong weekend, with 30 saves in Friday’s loss, 26 saves on Saturday, and 31 saves to finish out the weekend on Sunday.
Six seniors finished their St. Lawrence careers on Sunday: Patrick Steinhauser, Nolan Gluchowski, Joe Sullivan, and Matt Purmal leave Appleton behind in addition to Marnell and Lough. The Saints will look towards Jacob Pritchard ‘19 and Carson Gicewicz ’20 to lead them offensively next season, while Brey and Daniel Manella ’20 stand tall in the net.