HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Down 2-0, Bella Schmidt scored a natural hat trick to help Suffolk women's hockey comeback and defeat Nichols, 4-2, in Conference of New England (CNE) play Saturday at Levy Rink. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4 | Nichols 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-8-1, 6-4-1 CNE) | Nichols (5-11-2, 2-7-3 CNE)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Nichols struck first 5:09 into the action and added to its advantage 7:20 into the middle period.  

Schmidt put away her first marker at the 15:38 mark of the second period with help from Shayna Deutsch and Maddie Gagliano to trim the deficit down to one, 2-1, which stood at the second intermission. 

The playing field evened at 2-all 6:18 into the third period when Schmidt scored her second of the night on the power play with assists by Cassie Borowski and Sammy Lassman.

Less than six minutes later, the sophomore struck again, this time short-handed, to push Suffolk in front. Maddie Gagliano aided on the goal that gave the Rams a 3-2 upper hand. 

The Bison made a last ditch effort to lock things up when they pulled McKenzie Muir from between the pipes for the extra skater. It was Suffolk that scored instead as Kate Pohl poured in an empty netter for insurance and lock up the crucial CNE win for the blue-and-gold.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Katelyn Michals produced 20 saves in the victory.
• Muir recorded 31 stops in the setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Schmidt supplied three goals. 
• Pohl provide one goal. 
• Gagliano logged a pair of assists. 
• Deutsch, Borowski and Lassman added one handout each. 
• Suffolk outshot Nichols, 73-42, including a 35-22 advantage in shots on target. 
• The Rams 1-for-4 on the power play. 
• The blue-and-gold successfully skated off three penalties.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk is unbeaten in its last 13 games versus the Bison, 11-0-2. 
• Under Abby Ostrom's guidance Suffolk sports a 4-0-1 record versus Nichols. 
• Suffolk has yet to fall to Nichols in a conference contest, 11-0-1. 
• The Rams defeated the Bison for the first time since Feb. 3, 2024, a 4-1 victory.
• Suffolk has scored a short-handed goal in back-to-back games for the first time since in program history. 
• Schmidt netted a hat trick for the first time in her collegiate career. The three goals are a personal-best, while the three points match a career-high. 
• Schmidt is the first skater to score a hat trick since Kellie Popkin did in a 4-1 victory over Nichols Feb. 3, 2024. 
• Schmidt has produced a point in back-to-back games. 
• Pohl scored her seventh goal of the season. 
• Gagliano dished out a personal-best two helpers and rewrote a career-high in points with two. 
• Borowski (1g, 3a) and Gagliano (2g, 1a) is on a three-game point streak. 
• Deutsch dished out the first assist of her collegiate career.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
A home-and-home series with the University of New England is next for Suffolk. The Rams will host the Nor'Easters Friday, Jan. 31 at 6:00 p.m., before traveling to Biddeford, Maine Saturday, Feb. 1 for a 4:00 p.m. puck drop.