Women’s Hockey Slips to No. 13 Utica in Season Opener, 1-0

UTICA, N.Y. – Suffolk women's hockey put up a fight against No. 13 Utica, but it was the Pioneers that prevailed, 1-0, to spoil the Rams' first game of the season Friday at the Nexus Center as part of the Utica Kick-Off Tournament.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 0 | No. 13 Utica 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (0-1-0) | No. 13 Utica (1-0-0) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first frame was nearly even in shots at 9-8 in Utica's favor, but zeros remained on the boards as the teams headed to the locker room for the first intermission thanks to perfect play from both netminders.  

It was Suffolk that held a slim edge in shots in the middle period, 10-9, but the Pioneers managed to put one of their attempts away to take a 1-0 advantage. Jordan Kowalski slid the puck by Katelyn Michals on the far right side to give the host the lead with help from Madison Richman and Kelsey Elliott.  

The Rams look to mount a comeback and had multiple opportunities with three power plays, however Utica had other things in mind. The Pioneers controlled the pace of play in the third outshooting the blue-and-gold 14-7. 

Suffolk made a last ditch effort when it pulled Michals from between the pipes for an extra skater over the final 2:16. Angela Hawthorne stepped up for UTICA as she denied three shots in the final two minutes to preserve the shutout.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Michals made 31 saves in the setback. 
• Hawthorne had 25 stops in the shout.  

STATISCALLY SPEAKING

• Utica outshot Suffolk, 32-25. 
• Kate Pohl, Sam Molind and Leslie Steiner all took four shots.
• The Rams defense blocked six shots led by a pair apiece by Steiner and Cassie Borowski.
• Neither team scored on the power play. Suffolk had six man-up chances, while the Pioneers skated on the power play twice. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams opened their campaign on the road for the fifth time in program history and third straight season. 
• On the road, Suffolk is 1-4-0 in season openers. 
• Tonight's decision is the second-ever shutout in Suffolk's opener in its history, first since 2019-20. 
• The blue-and-gold battled a nationally ranked opponent in game one for the second time and second time in as many years. 
• Suffolk faced Utica in its season opener for the second time and second straight season. 
• Suffolk is 0-2-0 in game one in the Abby Ostrom era. 
• The one goal allowed to the Pioneers is the fewest given up by the Rams in the all-time series against Utica. 
• The cleansheet is the first between Suffolk and Utica. 
• Michals made her Suffolk debut in net. 
• Liv O'Brien, Shayna Deutsch, Lily Abraham, Alexia Hill and Abby Sandler all made their collegiate debuts. 
• Pohl played as a Ram for the first time in her collegiate career. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
The Rams concluded play at the Utica Kick-Off Tournament tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. Suffolk will play either No. 5 Elmira or Wilkes.