The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Post, Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac, UConn set for season openers
The Sacred Heart and Post University women’s teams will have the honor of playing the first college hockey games in the state of Connecticut this season when each opens play at the SportsCenter of Connecticut on Friday afternoon.
The Pioneers, who open with Maine, are coming off a 2084 season and were picked to finish second in the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance preseason poll. Sacred Heart returns 11 of their top 13 scorers from a season ago, including defenseman Jayne Lewis, who led the team with 19 goals and 18 assists. Reigning NEHWA Defensive Player of the Year Maddie Bishop and Olivia Bryant, one of seven returnees with at least 15 points last season, have been named the team captains.
NEWHA coRookie of the Year Anna Klein headlined a freshman class that tallied 34 of Sacred Heart’s 120 goals in the 201819 campaign.
The Pioneers will need to replace Haley Payne and
Lilly Cleary, who combined for 25 goals last season, but the biggest loss to graduation is standout goalie Sarah Erban, who was 1654 with a 1.84 goals against average as a senior.
Post, which hosts NEWHA preseason favorite Saint Anselm on Friday and Saturday at 4 p.m. in Shelton, returns the trio of Kendall Fitzgerald, Molly Brumfield and Kathleen Takita after they combined for 14 goals and 17 assists a season ago. The Eagles bring back 11 of the 13 players to have at least one goal including East Haven’s Julia Schatz, who could be the Eagles’ top faceoff taker.
Quinnipiac, which opens the season at Providence on Friday, will need to replace both of its doubledigit goal scorers from a season ago, but do return eight forwards and seven defensemen who saw time a season ago. Brooke Bonsteel scored twice in exhibition win over Ryerson.
Sophomore Lexie Adzija is the top returning scorer for the Bobcats with seven goals and 11 assists. Taylor House is the top returning goal scorer, as she had nine as a sophomore. Freshman Alexa Hoskin skated with Adzija and House in the exhibition game and was one of six freshmen to get onto the ice against Ryerson.
The defense will be led by goalie Abbie Ives, who had six shutouts, a .924 save percentage and 1.89 goals against average as a junior.
UConn kicks off the season with games at LIU Brooklyn on Friday and Saturday. The Huskies return their top 11 scorers from a season ago, led by Natalie Snodgrass, who had a teamleading 15 goals in the 201819 season. Vernon’s Morgan Fisher is back for her senior season after winning 11 games last season.
Yale opens the season on Oct. 25 at home against LIU. The Bulldogs will have a pair of home exhibition games on Oct. 12 and 19.
The Bulldogs, picked to finish eighth in the ECAC, will be led by forward and team captain Laura Anderson, ECAC AllRookie selection Rebecca Vanstone (teamleading 13 goals), senior goalie Tera Hofmann and AllIvy League defenseman Emma Seitz in Mark Bolding’s first season as Yale’s head coach.