EAST BOSTON – Suffolk women's hockey fell to Western New England, 5-1, Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink. The Golden Bears used an early advantage to take down the Rams in Conference of New England (CNE) action.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Western New England 5}
RECORDS: Suffolk (6-8-0, 4-4-0 CNE) | Western New England (10-5-0, 4-4-0 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk attempted to clear its zone, but Katie Cronin had other things in mind. The Golden Bears stole the puck, snuck between a pair of Rams defenders and sniped a shot over Katelyn Michals' blocker side shoulder to give the visitors a 1-0 lead 2:08 into the action.  

The Golden Bears poured in two quick goals less than two minutes into the middle period to extend their advantage. Mabel Gerard struck first 1:00 out of the locker room and Hannah Baxter potted her first goal of the season 56 seconds later to put Suffolk in a three-goal hole.

WNE's scoring did not stop there as Alana Bouthillette struck on the power play to lengthen the margin to 4-0 with 12:43 left on the clock in the second. 

The Rams managed to find their way on the scoreboard with 1:08 remaining in the second period. Shayna Deutsch chipped in Kate Pohl's rebound to put Suffolk on the board. Alexia Hill had a hand in the goal that sent Suffolk into the second intermission chasing three, 4-1.  

Suffolk aimed to play catchup in the third. The Golden Bears managed to keep a Rams comeback at bay and ended up adding one more tally to its total with 1:45 left in regulation for the 5-1 final. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Michals had 37 saves in the setback. 
• Rachael Irving turned aside 36 shots.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Deutsch scored Suffolk's lone goal. 
• Hill and Pohl handed out one assist apiece. 
• Western New England edged Suffolk in shots, 42-37. 
• The Golden Bears also held the upper hand in face-offs, 45-31. 
• The blue-and-gold was unable to capitalize on its two power play chances.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Deutsch scored her third goal of the year. 
• Hill extended her point streak to nine games. In that span the freshman has three goals and six assists.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk closes the home-and-home series with the Golden Bears tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m.