Women’s Hockey Suffers Loss to Keene State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Women's Hockey team welcomed Keene State to the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink this evening for a non-conference matchup with the Owls. Keene's Brianna Finke and Paige Henault either scored or picked up an assist as the visitors scored three goals in the second period while frustrating the Trailblazer's offense throughout the night.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Tuesday, January 14, 2025
• Score: Keene 4, MCLA 1
• Records: Keene State University Owls 10-6-0 (N/A 0-0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 7-8-0 (MASCAC 1-4)
• Series History: This is the first-ever meeting between the teams. Keene State is a first-year program.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Despite the Owls holding a 16 to four advantage in shots, the first period concluded without a goal. Keene State broke through first, scoring just before the midpoint of the second frame with Brianna Finke (9:53, assisted by Paige Henault). The Owls then added another goal just over three minutes later that was credited to Ava Iantosca (12:58, Finke and Henault), and a third goal with less than a minute left in the frame from Henault (19:02, Finke) to take a 3-0 edge into the second intermission
• MCLA responded with a goal with just over eight minutes off the clock in the third period. After junior goalie Juliette Barney (Braintree, MA / Anna Maria College) deflected away a Keene shot toward the corner where a Trailblazer defender was able to send it back around the boards to senior defenseman Alexandrea Bednar (Vita, MB / Univ. of Wisconsin–Eau Claire) along the left side. Bednar chipped it ahead to sophomore forward Maggie Danchak (Chalfont, PA / Philadelphia Little Flyers) before Bednar then broke ahead of the Owl defender towards the net, creating a two-on-one advantage thanks to sophomore forward Paige Pouliot (Milan, NH / Berling High School) streaking up the left wing. Bednar brought the puck through center ice and looked off a defender with an eye toward Pouliot before keeping the puck and firing off a wrist shot over the goalie's stick-side shoulder for her tenth goal of the year. The helper was Danchak's fourth of the season.
• The Owls added an empty net goal by Emma McNeil (18:26, Caroline Demeo) with 94 seconds to play to set the final score at 4-1.
• Makenna Montgomery recorded 12 saves on 13 shots, improving her record to 5-3-0. Barney suffered the loss, dropping to 3-5-0 despite making 38 stops.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: Keene 42, MCLA 13
• Saves: Keene 12, MCLA 38
• Faceoffs Won: Keene 33, MCLA 18
• Penalty/Minutes: Keene 2/4:00, MCLA 2/4:00
• Power Plays: Keene 0 for 2, MCLA 0 for 2

UP NEXT:

On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Framingham State for a MASCAC matchup with the Rams at Loring Arena. The puck will drop at 5:40 p.m.

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