Suffolk University women’s hockey hosted the Nichols College Bison Feb. 8, with the Rams getting handed a 4-2 loss by the Bison in Conference of New England play.
The Rams have now lost four straight games, three of which have come against CNE opponents. They are 8-12-1 overall and 6-7-1 in the CNE, good for sixth place in the conference.
Just 1:45 into the game, Suffolk’s Leslie Steiner was called for tripping to give Nichols an early power play. Nichols’ Grace Melanson took advantage and scored on the power play to give the Bison a 1-0 lead. Forward Sophie Costello-Krakowski doubled the Bison lead to 2-0 16 minutes into the first period.
Nichols got another power play chance early in the second period after Liliana Moose was called for checking. They cashed in again as Melissa Montesi found the back of the net to make it a 3-0 game.
Although the Rams gave up the first three goals of the game, captain Sammy Lassman was still pleased with the team’s effort to start the game.
“I think we started off fine. We were getting a lot of shots on net,” said Lassman. “I think the second period is where we lost our momentum, but I think in the first 10 minutes of the first period we were wheeling and getting a lot of shots on net, which is what we need. We just need to continue to do that for 60 minutes.”
Suffolk cut into the three-goal deficit with 1:50 left in the second period as sophomore Bella Schmidt scored her ninth goal of the season, with assists going to Abby Sandler and Kate Pohl.
The Rams cut the deficit to one 10:41 into the third period when senior Sam Molind scored, assisted by Alexia Hill and Shayna Deutsch. The Bison held off the Suffolk attack after that and sealed the game on Alexis Pacheco’s empty-net goal in the final minute.
Lassman thought the second period was the difference in this game, saying that Nichols was the more determined team.
“I think they wanted it a little more than we did, and it showed,” said Lassman. “We need to continue to be relentless for the whole game, but normally around the second period is where we start to lose our momentum.”
Suffolk’s offense sent 42 shots at Nichols goalie McKenzie Muir, but Muir stopped all but two to give the Bison their fourth CNE win of the season.
Katelyn Michals was the starting goalie for Suffolk and made 26 saves on the 29 Nichols shots on goal. Lassman credited the strong play of Michals all season long as a reason why the team is still in playoff contention.
“Katelyn is probably the biggest asset on our team,” said Lassman. “I think she controls a lot of the game, she dictates how we play and with her behind us we play pretty strong. She’s a great goalie, she definitely saves us in a lot of tough moments. We definitely wouldn’t be where we are without her.”
Suffolk has four games remaining in the regular season, all against CNE opponents. They have a pair of road games coming up, taking on number 11 nationally ranked Endicott College Feb. 14 and Curry College the next day.
“We just need to play a full 60 minutes. That means coming out fast, playing aggressive, getting our pins down and getting a lot of shots on net from the slot,” said Lassman. “We definitely need these six points coming up. It’s gonna be a battle, but that’s what playoff hockey is and we just gotta grind it out.”
