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Izabela Gage

Women’s ice hockey opens conference play with tough loss


Women's ice hockey players in a faceoff.
Izabela Gage / THE GATEPOST

By Izabela Gage Asst. Sports Editor The women’s ice hockey team fell to the Rivier University Raiders 10-1 in their first conference game Nov. 9. This loss brings their overall record to 0-3, and their conference record to 0-1. The Raiders dominated the game from the first faceoff, and goaltender Lila Chamoun stayed vigilant with five saves from their quick-fire offense in the opening 2 minutes. Forward Finley Hogan gained possession of the puck after Framingham won their first faceoff of the game. She took a fast shot on net, which was saved by Raiders’ goaltender Rachel Symmes. An early 4 minutes into the game, forward Petra Cernicek was put into the penalty box for cross-checking, putting the Rams on the penalty kill. Less than a minute later, the Raiders scored their first and only power-play goal of the game. It was back to 5-on-5, and Rivier did not let up on offensive pressure. Chamoun stayed strong in the goal crease with 4 saves. The Raiders stayed aggressive and netted the puck twice in less than a minute, bringing the score to 3-0. After another 4 saves from Chamoun, the Raiders slipped another puck through the Rams’ defense and found the back of the net once again. Goaltender Anna McGinty was substituted for Chamoun, and tallied 5 saves before Rivier found another opening on the net, and brought the score to 5-0. Defender Adrianna Rizzotto scored the Rams’ first and only goal of the game at 17:47, assisted by forwards Jamie Webster and Sarah Lewis. The Raiders ended the first period with one last goal despite McGinty’s efforts on defense, and brought the score to 6-1. McGinty said, “I don’t tend to get rattled from being scored on, actively losing, or getting peppered by shots. “I usually take the time in between periods to rest my legs, drink water, and get my energy back up for the work ahead,” she added. Rizzotto said, “We didn’t play the prettiest first period - we talked about it after and we came out and competed harder the rest of the game.” The second period opened with 2 shots on goal by forwards Ceira Garrity and Webster, both of which were saved by Symmes. McGinty tallied 13 saves in the second period before the Raiders brought the score to 7-1. Rivier earned a short-handed goal after McGinty tried to stay assertive in net with 8 saves. The Rams rounded out the second period with one more save by McGinty. The third period started in favor of the Rams, with Garrity winning the first faceoff. The Raiders gained possession and took another shot on goal a minute later. The Rams' offense stayed aggressive, taking 5 shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, contrasting with the Raiders’ 3. Rivier’s Rebecca McKelvey was called for cross-checking and the Raiders made a second short-handed goal at 10:31. The game was back to even strength until 1 minute later, forward and defender Kalina Cochran and defender Lila Amarante were put in the penalty box for hitting from behind and tripping, respectively. Only 3 seconds after the teams were back to 5-on-5, Rivier netted their 10th and final goal of the game. The last 6 minutes of the game were back and forth, with both Framingham and Rivier tallying 3 more shots on goal each. With standout performances from Chamoun and McGinty in goal, the Rams demonstrated their abilities to withstand strong offense, promising an ongoing exciting season for the inaugural women’s ice hockey team. McGinty totaled an impressive 40 saves, earning a save percentage of .870. Chamoun tallied 17 saves, earning a save percentage of .809. The Rams only allowed one power-play scoring opportunity out of six. McGinty said she thinks her teammates handle penalty kills well. “My teammates’ positioning is good in the defensive zone. “They are good at making smart plays during tense times such as those to get the puck out of the zone or just make it so I can see the shot and make a clean and simple save on it,” she added. She said she is hoping to improve her ability to come out of the net and “make myself look bigger to the shooter because I’ve been finding myself being deep in the crease on shots.” Rizzotto said, “We are taking everything one game at a time, looking to improve, and going over what we need to fix and what we did well.”

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