Suffolk University women’s hockey team brought Johnson & Wales University into Ram country Nov. 15, leading to a decisive 4-0 shutout success in Conference of New England play. This win drives their season record up to 2-3-0 and 2-1-0 for their conference record. Both wins for the Rams this season have come on home ice.
Despite playing tight on both team’s goals, the puck had yet to make its way into the goal for either team after the first period. By the second period, assistant captain Sam Molind took a pass from freshman Lily Abraham and scored the first goal of the night.
Finally on the board, the energy started to amp up for both teams. The Wildcats managed to hold possession of the puck, attempting to even out the board. Suffolk goalie Katelyn Michals put a halt to anything trying to enter her net. Johnson & Wales tried to take their shots a few times but nothing was getting past Michals, who expertly stopped every puck that tried.
The third period is when the pucks started to hit the net. Following passes from senior Sammy Lassman and sophomore Bella Schmidt, there was space in the Wildcats defense for junior Liliana Moose to score her first goal of the season.
“I’m super stoked. I mean, Obviously I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” said Moose, post-game but still brightly running high on her gametime energy. “I think that goal kinda helped get momentum for the team.”
Moose opened the goal scoring floodgates for the Rams. The third goal went to Suffolk’s Shayna Deutsch, a freshman who swiped the puck from a Johnson & Wales player and made a swift dash for the goal and sent it soaring past their goalie. This was her first goal of the season as well.
“This is such a good game to get it,” said Deutsch in reference to her first goal of the season, “because we had such a good game as a team.”
The fourth and final goal of the night went to junior Katie Newkirk, with assists from freshman Abby Sandler and sophomore Alessia Di Silvestro. The Rams had been applying pressure to the Wildcats, crowding around their goal. Passing wide to Sandler drew the Wildcats out, leaving space for her to send it to Newkirk to score the final goal of the night.
Since Suffolk will face off against Johnson & Wales the following day, Nov. 16, Head Coach Abby Ostrom is feeling better going to them and playing on their ice after this game. This was the first time the Rams and Wildcats had faced off since 2020 and she was hesitant about how it would go. Going into the last period with only a single goal did little to ease Ostrom in the moment. The flourishing finish the ladies managed to pull together helped Ostrom’s feeling about the next game.
“We just have to play like we did in that third period,” said Ostrom, “We had a little bit more intent, a little bit more poise.”
Even though the season is just beginning, it’s hard for them to not get caught up in how it’s going so far. The Rams can always count on Ostrom to keep a level head, even after a sweeping victory.
“That’s kinda the motto we’re going with; humble enough to know we gotta work hard but confident enough to know that we can do it,” Ostrom said.
The Rams went to the Wildcats rink the next day, which ended with a 5-1 loss. The Rams’ season record now changes to 2-4-0, with a 2-2-0 conference record.
Despite having played and lost to the Rams the day before, the Wildcats came back with a sharp vengeance. Halfway through the first period, Johnson & Wales scored the first goal of the game. That was just the beginning of them dishing out some ice cold revenge.
Through the duration of the second period, Johnson & Wales continued to score. They put two more goals onto the board before the Rams locked horns and shot the puck into the net. The first and only goal of the game went to Kate Pohl, marking her second goal of the season. She was assisted by her fellow Rams, freshman Alexia Hill and sophomore Anya Nichipor.
Pohl is a graduate student this year, having come from Amherst College and played on their hockey team as well. Despite the loss, Pohl notes how good it feels to score, no matter the outcome of the game as a whole. She also spoke on how she’s ready to contribute her years of experience to the team and to watch them develop and grow over the season.
Having some gold-and-blue on the board did little to unnerve the Wildcats. In the third period, they sent two more pucks into Suffolk’s goal. The game ends without the Suffolk ladies seeing their shots hit the back of the net again.
According to Ostrom, the loss was due to the mental side of the game for the Rams.
“Lack of focus and lack of attention to detail, more mental than physical mistakes,” said Ostrom. “Nothing too crazy, just a bump in the road. We beat ourselves and made Katelyn’s life too hard.”
The Wildcats came to even the score after losing to the Rams the night before and they did. Revenge is a dish best served cold and there is no place colder than on the ice. In the conference, the Rams are now sixth with Johnson & Wales holding first place.
This isn’t the last we’ll see of the Johnson & Wales Wildcats. Come Feb. 21, the Wildcats will return to Suffolk’s ice for another rematch. By then, the season will be coming to a close, so the pressure will be on. That also means the Rams will have time to take a step back and refine their skills. Next time, the Rams will be looking to get their revenge on the scoreboard.
“Saturday was a tough loss, but I think it highlighted some areas of improvement, especially not taking any teams lightly,” Pohl said. “We need to work on making smart plays with the puck, using our speed and skill, and staying tough and relentless every game.”
