HARRISVILLE, R.I. – Suffolk women's hockey hung onto its lead and held off a Nichols comeback to pick up its first win of the 2023-24 as the Rams took down the Bison, 3-2, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference affair Friday night at Levy Arena. 

Three different blue-and-gold skaters potted a goal to push Suffolk to victory for the first time in the Abby Ostrom era. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | Nichols 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (1-4-0, 1-2-0 CCC) | Nichols (3-2-0, 1-2-0 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
Kellie Popkin put Suffolk on the scoreboard 5:03 into the game as the graduate student picked up the puck in the neutral zone on a Rams penalty kick, went on a 2-on-1 with a Bison defender and Nichols netminder. Popkin shot from the top of the left face-off dot and the puck trickled in to give the blue-and-gold an early edge that it held as the teams headed to the locker room for the first time.   

Suffolk sandwiched two goals around a Bison strike in the middle period to carry a 3-1 advantage into the second intermission.  

Sammy Lassman lit the lamp first. The junior captain tipped in Bella Schmidt's shot from just inside the blue line to make it 2-0 Suffolk at the 9:18 mark of the second. Anya Nichipor assisted on the goal as well. 

Six minutes later Grace Wiggett buried an unassisted puck to get the Bison the board and chip the Rams edge back to one. Alessia Di Silvestro restored the two-goal margin in the blue-and-gold's favor with just 12 seconds left before new ice was made. Sydney Fascetta won a scramble against the boards, brought the puck in front of Nichols net and Di Silvestro was there to put it away.  

Ema Jaskova gave Nichols hope 7:37 into the third when she tucked away her own rebound to cut the distance back to one.  

The Rams managed to control the puck the rest of the way and Lily O'Neil stook up to each challenge on target to preserve the conference triumph. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• O'Neil finished with 30 saves in the victory. 
• McKenzie Muir had 26 stops in the setback.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Di Silvestro, Lassman and Popkin each scored one goal for the Rams. 
• Fascetta, Nichipor, Moose and Schmidt dished out one assist apiece. 
• Nichols held the edge in shots, 32-29, while the Rams won the face-off battle, 33-25. 
• Neither team managed to capitalize on its five power plays.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk secured its first win the season and of the Ostrom era. 
• Suffolk improved to 8-2-1 all-time against Nichols. 
• The Rams are now unbeaten in the last nine meetings with the Bison with eight consecutive triumphs over Nichols. 
• On the road, the Rams are 4-1-0 against Nichols. 
• Suffolk has never fallen to Nichols when competing as CCC rivals, 8-0-0. 
• There has never been a shutout in the all-time series between Suffolk and Nichols. 
• Suffolk has outscored Nichols 45-26 all-time. 
• In one goal games, Suffolk boasts a 3-1-0 ledger against the Bison. 
• Suffolk tied the most number of goals scored by the Rams (3) with Ostrom on the bench. 
• Suffolk was the first team on the scoreboard in a game this season. 
• Popkin produced her first point as a Ram. 
• Popkin is the first Ram to log a special team goal this year. 
• Popkin's shorthanded strike is the first for Suffolk since Leslie Steiner netted a shorthanded empty netter in a 3-2 win over Salve Regina Feb. 10, 2023. 
• Lassman found the back of the net for the second time this season. 
• Di Silvestro (1g, 1a), Fascetta (1g, 1a) and Moose (2g) 
• Nichipor (1a) and Schmidt (1a) both logged their first collegiate points.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk welcomes Nichols to Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink for a rematch tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 11. Puck drop in the Mental Health Awareness Game is scheduled for 4:50 p.m.