EAST BOSTON – For the first time in program history, Suffolk women's hockey kept Nichols off the scoreboard as Lily O'Neil racked up 27 saves and the Rams offense poured in five goals to blank the Bison, 5-0, Saturday in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Rink.
Five different Rams scored in Suffolk's first-ever shutout in the Abby Ostrom era.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 5 | Nichols 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-4-0, 2-2-0 CCC) | Nichols (3-3-0, 1-3-0 CCC)
HOW IT HAPPENS
Aiden Levee-Oshiro scored 6:45 into the contest to send Suffolk into the first intermission up one goal. The freshman buried a feed from graduate student Kellie Popkin in transition to put the Rams on the scoreboard. Jenny Drevitch aided in the game-opening goal as well.
Suffolk extended its edge in the middle period as Katie Newkirk put away the blue-and-gold's first power play goal of the season. The freshman received a wrap-around pass from Alessia Di Silvestro and quickly shot past McKenzie Muir to double the distance at the midway point of the second stanza. Popkin had a stick in the goal that made it 2-0 Suffolk.
The Rams kept their feet on the gas pedal in the third as they poured in three goals for the lopsided 5-0 margin. Di Silvestro, Popkin and Drevitch all lit the lamp for the blue-and-gold.
Defensively, O'Neil preserved the shutout as she made nine saves in the final period, including five over a penalty kill.
NETMINDER NOTES
- O'Neil finished with a 27-save performance.
- Muir notched 36 stops in the setback.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
- Drevitch and Popkin had identical one-goal, two-assist stat lines.
- Di Silvestro had multiple points as well with one strike and one helper.
- Levee-Oshiro and Newkirk both found the back of the net once.
- Jenna Caballero, Sydney Fascetta and Liliana Moose dished out one assist each.
- Suffolk outshot Nichols, 41-27.
- The Rams won the face-off battle, 36-24.
- Suffolk went 1-for-5 on the power play and successfully skated off a pair of penalties.
NOTEWORTHY
- Suffolk improved to 9-2-1 all-time against Nichols.
- The Rams are unbeaten in the last 10 meetings with the Bison.
- Suffolk has won nine games in a row versus Nichols.
- Suffolk is undefeated, 2-0-0, against Bison under Ostrom's guidance.
- At home, Suffolk is now 5-1-1 versus the Bison.
- Suffolk has never lost a CCC contest against Nichols, 9-0-0.
- The shutout is the first-ever in the Suffolk, Nichols all-time series.
- Suffolk blanked an opponent for the first time since shutting out the University of New England, 6-0, in the 2023 CCC Semifinals Feb. 25, 2023.
- Suffolk's five goals are the most in the Ostrom era.
- O'Neil registered her first cleansheet of the season and fifth of her collegiate career.
- Levee-Oshiro scored her first collegiate goal.
- Popkin notched her first assist as a Ram.
- Popkin has produced a point in back-to-back games for the Rams. In that span she has two goals and two assists to her credit.
- Popkin logged a Suffolk career high assists (2) and produced multiple points for the first time in her Rams' career (3).
- Newkirk found the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career. She notched her first collegiate point as on the goal.
- Newkirk became the first Ram to score on the power play this season.
- Di Silvestro stretched her point streak to three games. In that span she has two goals and two assists.
- Di Silvestro registered a personal-best in with two points.
- Fascetta has dished out an assist in back-to-back games. The graduate student has recorded a point in the last three games. In that span she has one goal and a pair of assists.
- Moose extended her point streak to three games. In that stretch she has one goal and two helpers.
- Drevitch found the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career. She finished with a career-high in assists (2) and points (3).
WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk is in store for a home-and-home series with No. 15 Endicott Nov. 17-18. The Rams will first battle in Beverly, Massachusetts Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Gulls Saturday at 4:50 p.m.