Women’s Hockey's Fifth Season Starts at Plymouth State, Hosts UMass Boston

SUFFOLK at PLYMOUTH STATE
Date Time Venue Video Stats Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Friday, Oct. 28 3:00 PM Hanaway Rink Plymouth, N.H. LittleEastTV.com Athletics.PlymouthState.com 4-1-0 Oct. 29, 2021, W, 5-2 Same W3

SUFFOLK vs. UMASS BOSTON
Date Time Venue Video Stats Program Series Last Meeting   Last Suffolk Win Streak	Saturday, Oct. 29 4:50 PM Porrazzo Rink East Boston, Mass. Playsight GoSuffolkRams.com GoSuffolkRams.com 3-2-1 Oct. 30, 2021, W, 5-4 Same W1

BOSTON – Suffolk women's hockey is set to pull the curtain back on its fifth campaign with a full weekend. The Rams head to Plymouth State Friday, Oct. 28 for the season opener at 3 p.m., with a Beantown battle against UMass Boston serving as the blue-and-gold's home debut at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink Saturday, Oct. 29 at 4:50 p.m. 

SOCIAL SAYINGS
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.

RAMS REWIND
Suffolk put together the winningest season a year ago with a 19-6 overall record and 14-4 CCC mark. The Rams started to pick up national recognition as they received votes in the USCHO.com Division III Poll on five occasions, one of which came after the program defeated its first-ever national foe, then-No. 8 Endicott, 4-3, Jan. 28, 2022.  

Awards rolled in for the Rams including the highest athletic honor, AHCA All-America, presented to Shana Cote after a 22-goal, 20-assist season. The first-ever CCC Player of the Year was one of three skaters to garner New England Writers Association All-Star status along with forward Maddy Burton (17g, 12a) and defensemen Madison Duff (4g, 17a). The trio was All-CCC first-team honorees, while Sofia Scilipoti (12g, 17a) and Leslie Steiner (3g, 12a) picked up all-league second-team status. Cote, Duff, Scilipoti and Steiner are all back in a blue-and-gold sweater this season. 

RAMS ROOKIES
Coming off the winningest season in program history, Suffolk women's hockey head coach Taylor Wasylk welcomed five Rams rookies to the fold for the 2022-23 campaign. The group features three true freshmen, Livia Brehm, Jenna Caballero and Liliana Moose, and a pair of transfers, Miranda Gaudet and Taylor Nowak. 

MORE READING: Women's Hockey Brings in Five Newcomers for 2022-23

GEOGRAPHY 101 
Suffolk's women's hockey team has one of the most unique geographical footprints in the department with 11 states covered as well as three Canadian Provinces and one Native American tribe, the Oneida Nation. 

No more than three student-athletes are from one area state side or internationally. Massachusetts and Michigan have the most residents with a trio apiece, while a twosome hails from the Empire State, New York. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin are represented by one Ram each. 

When it comes to the United States' neighbor to the north, one player who flew in from Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. 

BAY STATE SKATERS
The first-ever Suffolk women's hockey was absent of a single Bay State skater. Now senior Cassidy Gruning was one of the first Massachusetts products to don the blue-and-gold. Lily O'Neil became the fourth-ever Massachusetts local to put on a Suffolk sweater in 2020-21, while Sam Molind joined the short list as the fifth Baby State product in program history in 2021-22.  

CLASS RANKS
Suffolk's 21-player is nearly evenly spread out with veterans and newcomers. The upperclassmen do outweigh the underclassmen with four graduate students, six seniors and a trio of juniors. Five sophomores and three true freshmen round out the Rams roster.  

PUCK POSITIONS
The 21 Rams are broken down into 11 forwards, seven skaters on the blue line and a three-headed contingent in net. 

FIFTH-YEAR PHENOMS
Suffolk's roster will get an added boost from five players that took advantage of their fifth-year of eligibility. Four of the skaters include members of the first-ever recruiting class, Shana Cote, Madison Duff, Natasha Savage and Kiley Searles, while Miranda Gaudet brought her talents to Boston for a post-graduate year after skating her undergrad for Clarkson.  

NETMINDER NOTES
Suffolk welcomes back its three-headed goaltending contingent of Hannah Gordon (1.12 GAA, .947 save percentage), Lily O'Neil (2.32 GAA, .905 save percentage) and Julia McLellan (1.90 GAA, .908 save percentage) from last season that combined for a .914 save percentage and 1.95 GAA with 19 victories, four of which were shutouts.  

WASYLK WHISTLE
Taylor Wasylk returns to lead Suffolk for its fifth season.

Through three full seasons and a COVID condensed campaign, Wasylk has led the Rams over the course of 87 games to a 46-36-5 record.

The two-time AHCA Coach of the Year Finalist, Wasylk has coached one AHCA, All-American, four all-region seconds, CCC Player of the Year, NEHC Rookie of the Year and 15 all-league honorees in her short time at Suffolk.

WATCH AND SEE

OPENING ACT

• Suffolk will open its campaign on the road for the third time in program history, first time since 2019-20.
• The Rams have opened the season in the win column the last two seasons to move to 2-2-0 all-time in their first game of the year. 
• Suffolk has yet to win a season opener when playing on the road, 0-2-0.
• The blue-and-gold is 2-0-0 when lifting the lid on its season on its own ice.  
• The Rams won their first-ever season debut in 2020-21 in the form of a 5-3 victory over Nichols.
• The blue-and-gold's goal record in game one is five, which the Rams achieved twice. First in 2020-21 in a 5-3 win over Nichols and again a year ago in a 5-2 triumph against Plymouth State. 
• There has been only one shutout in Suffolk's opener history. The Rams were kept off the scoreboard when they lifted the lid on the 2019-20 season at Nazareth, 3-0.
• The Rams will take on Plymouth State in its first outing of the year for the second straight season. A year ago, Suffolk skated past the Panthers, 5-2, Oct. 29, 2021.
• Suffolk has never needed extra time in its first outing of a campaign. 

MORE INFO: Suffolk Women's Hockey Season Openers

RAMS RANKS
For the first time in program history, Suffolk women's hockey picked up votes in the DCU/USCHO.com Division III Preseason Poll.

MORE READING: Women's Hockey Debuts in DCU/USCHO.com Preseason Poll

PRESEASON POSITION
In its fifth varsity season, Suffolk women's hockey has been projected to repeat as runners-up in the Commonwealth Coast Conference via the preseason coaches' poll.

MORE READING: Women's Hockey Selected Second in CCC Preseason Poll

PANTHERS POINT
Plymouth State finished 7-17-1 overall and 5-13-0 in the NEHC a year ago, earning a spot in the NEHC Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. The eighth-seeded Panthers were knocked out by ninth-seeded Salem State, falling 4-3 in overtime. 

PSU ushers in a new era under first-year head coach Mollie Fitzpatrick, who is no stranger to the NEHC as she won national titles as both a player and an assistant coach at her alma mater, Norwich.  

The Panthers bring back the core of its 35-goal offense from last season including the top five skaters in points in Meghan Hamilton (5g, 4a), Addie Swanson (5g, 4a), Chantelle Ross (4g, 5a), Sophie Streed (3g, 4a) and Taylor Thomas (2g, 5a). 

Both goalies from the 2021-22 squad are back for Plymouth State in Olivia Petito (3.28 GAA, .898 save percentage) and Amelia Julian (3.85 GAA, .891 save percentage). Freshmen Maggie Vance and Alex Boots add depth in net for PSU. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk is 4-1-0 all-time against Plymouth State.
• The Rams has won the last three outings against the Panthers including a 5-2 victory in the last meeting, Oct. 29, 2021.
• Suffolk is unbeaten, 3-0-0, when hosting PSU.
• At Plymouth State, Suffolk is 1-1-0.
• The blue-and-gold has outscored the Panthers, 18-9, in the all-time series.
• The most goals Suffolk has put away against Plymouth State was five. A mark the Rams have hit twice, in the last two meetings, including last season's 5-2 triumph in Eastie.
• There has never been a shutout in the all-time series.
• A game has never gone past regulation in the all-time series.

MORE INFO: Suffolk vs. Plymouth State – All-Time Series

EYES ON THE GAME

BEACONS BREAKDOWN
UMass Boston looks to build off a 12-13-0 successful season a year ago as it skates into its second year under the leadership of head coach Danielle Blanchard. 

The Beacons bring back three of their top-4 scorers from a season ago. NEHC All-Rookie team selection Katie Wilbert (9g, 10a), Cailey Kozich (9g, 8a) and Liz Kramp (6g, 11a). Defenseman Addie Budington, a third-team all-league honoree in 2021-22 with 10 assists and 15 blocked shots, will anchor UMB's blue line, while Victoria Kennedy looks to top a rookie campaign in which she assembled a .926 save percentage with 664 saves over 25 games played. 

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Suffolk sits 3-2-1 overall against UMass Boston.
• The Rams came back to defeat the Beacons in the last meeting, 5-4, Oct. 30, 2021.
• As the host team, Suffolk is 1-2-0 versus UMB.
• Suffolk is 2-0-1 when playing at UMass Boston.
• The first-ever meeting between the Rams and Beacons Nov. 17, 2018 went into overtime and ended in a 2-2 draw. That is the only OT game between the rivals in the all-time series.
• Goals are even in the series at 15 apiece. 
• Neither team has kept the other off the scoreboard in any to date.

MORE INFO: Suffolk vs. UMass Boston – All-Time Series

EYES ON THE GAME

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk begins its Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) calendar next weekend, Nov. 4-5, with a home-and-home series against Salve Regina. The Rams will first visit the Seahawks Friday at 7 p.m., before entertaining SRU Saturday at 4:50 p.m.