We are going to have a first time NCAA tournament entrant and possibly also a first time NEWHA champion. Franklin Pierce won the conference back in 2022, but that was the season before the NEWHA tournament winner received an automatic bid to the national tournament.

This is the first season that neither of the top two seeds advanced to the final with the previous highest combined seeding coming back in 2020 when #4 Long Island beat #2 St. Anselm for the title.

Franklin Pierce’s win over Long Island was about as wild as they come. The Ravens were staring down a 3-1 deficit with just over 2 minutes left in the third period. They’d score with 2:07 left, and 1:34 left, both at even strength, to tie the game before winning it with 2:34 left in overtime. The unlikely hero was Grace Schuck who scored both FPU’s second and third goals to tie the game. Schuck has just 8 on the season and is currently 9th on the Ravens in points. The top three Ravens scorers were largely held in check with only Anna Caumo (3rd) notching an assist against LIU so it was their depth that won the day.

Stonehill would score an overtime victory of their own with all regulation goals coming in the second period. The Skyhawks erased two one-goal disadvantages in the middle frame and kept things tied through the third. Their winner came from top-scorer Alexis Petford with 4:29 remaining in overtime.

#3 Stonehill vs. #5 Franklin Pierce

The Skyhawks and Ravens played a pretty close regular season series, though the Skyhawks got the better of the shot totals. The third period was pivotal in the first and third games with the Skyhawks holding a 6-1 advantage overall in the frame.

Outside of the first game, the Ravens really seemed to falter as the games went on in terms of shots. They were outshot 30-12 in the final two periods of the second game and 26-12 and 23-6 in the final two of the others. They’ll need to find the same life they found in the third last weekend to walk away with a trophy and keep their season going.

Both teams had anemic power plays and solid penalty kills during the regular season so this game will likely be decided at even strength.

Stonehill Franklin Pierce
Pct .568 .544
+/-/g +0.1 +0.5
G Rel -5.23% -3.11%
PP% 13.39% 10.42%
PK 90.54% 88.97%
SF/g 32.9 29.5
SA/g 28.6 32.4
Sht% 7.5% 8.1%
Sv% .918 .941
Rel S% -0.63% -6.17%

Top Scorers

Stonehill

  • Alexis Petford: 18-15-33
  • Maddison Achtyl: 13-10-23
  • Josie Mendeszoon: 6-15-21

Franklin Pierce

  • Mikayla Kelley: 12-11-23
  • Emilie Prive: 7-14-21
  • Anna Caumo: 10-10-20