Courtesy of RITAtheltics.com
WORCESTER, MA – Junior Kandice Sheriff (Brampton, Ontario/) scored the game-winning goal with 1:47 left in regulation to snap a 2-2 tie and lift the RIT women’s hockey team (1-0-1) to its first win of the 2017-18 season, 3-2 over Holy Cross (0-1-1) at the Hart Center on Saturday evening.
Sheriff collected a pass from Brooke Baker (Saline, MI/Saline) inside the Crusaders zone and ripped a shot past goaltender Tessie Salatas for her second goal in two games to start the season. Sheriff also added an assist for a two-point night.
Freshmen Baylee Trani (Huntington Beach, CA/New England Hockey Club) and Brittney Gout(Caledon, Ontario/Brampton Canadettes) scored their first collegiate goals2:12 apart in the opening period to give RIT a 2-0 lead. Classmate Jordan Marchese (Mississauga, Ontario/Brampton Canadettes) assisted on Gout’s goal for her first collegiate point.
Goaltender Jessi O’Leary (Woodstock, New Brunswick/Athol Murray) stopped 27 of 29 shots to earn her first collegiate win between the pipes.
Maeve Reilly and Julie Matthias scored power-play goals for the Crusaders. Salatas made 28 saves in defeat.
Holy Cross was 2-for-4 on the power-play, while RIT was 0-for-3. The Tigers held a 31-29 edge in shots.
“I thought tonight’s game was similar to last night with all of the momentum shifts throughout,” said Bruce B. Bates Women’s Hockey Coach Scott McDonald. “Tonight. I thought we played harder and showed more poise at the end of the game to earn the win.”
Last night, the Tigers and Crusaders skated to a 2-2 tie. Sheriff and Land scored RIT’s goals, while O’Leary made 26 saves in her collegiate debut.
RIT leads the all-time series between the two schools, 11-3-2. Before last night’s contest, the two teams last met in 2006-07, when both were members of the ECAC East in Division III.
Holy Cross is making its Division I debut this season. The Crusaders are an independent for the 2017-18 season and will join Hockey East in 2018-19.
RIT returns to action next weekend as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of the ECAC comes to the Polisseni Center for games on Friday, Oct 13 at 4 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 14 at 1 p.m. Next weekend is RIT’s Brick City & Homecoming Family Weekend.
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