An incredible regular season has pushed the Saint Anselm women’s ice hockey team into the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) playoffs as the top seed.  The Hawks captured the NEHC regular season title behind junior Kaitlyn Spillane’s massive week.  She was awarded NEHC player of the week honors for the second time this season after she registered a six-point week in the two victories for the Hawks.  The women end the regular season with an astonishing record of 20 wins, just two losses, and three ties.  Their in-conference record at the end of the regular season also holds strong at 15 wins, one loss, and one tie.

The Hawks finished their regular with two away games at Holy Cross on Thurs., Feb 16, and at Southern Maine on Sat., Feb. 18.  The Hawks won both games by a combined score of 13-3.

They beat Holy Cross 7-3 behind a hat trick from eventual NEHC player of the week, Kaitlyn Spillane, and a two-goal performance by senior Alex Starzyk.  Sophomore goaltender Maddie Scavotto backstopped the Hawks to the win, elevating her record to 14-1-3 on the year.  The Hawks dominated the entire game, outshooting the Crusaders in every period.  The final shot total registered in at 29 for Saint Anselm and 14 for the Crusaders.

In the season finale for the women’s hockey team, the Hawks crushed the University of Southern Maine with the final score being 6-0.  Junior Kaitlyn Spillane finished the massive week with a two-goal performance and added an assist on top of that as well.  Four other Hawks scored a goal in the game.  Those were: junior Jackie Guy, sophomore Sara McNamara, freshman Kaley Campbell, and sophomore Maura Kieft.  Maddie Scavotto was the winning goaltender again in this game as she produced her sixth shutout of the season.

The Hawks seem to just be riding into each game with a blank slate on their minds.  This is what has led to the current four game win streak for the women.  As senior defenseman Meaghan Spurling said, “We don’t usually pay attention to the winning streak. It is more like we play from game to game. With every game we have a new slate where we want to win. Playing for each other and the love and passion we all have for the game is probably the motivation [for this winning streak].“

The Hawks will enter the playoffs as an overwhelming favorite to win the two game tournament that is the NEHC Open.  The tournament will start for the Hawks on Sat., Feb. 25, and the games will all be played at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT.  The championship game will be played on Sun., Feb. 26 at Sacred Heart.