Box Score

Courtesy: St. Lawrence Sports Information

CANTON, N.Y. - St. Lawrence University senior Karlee Shields had a night to remember at Appleton Arena on Friday, as the Edmonton, AB native score her first two collegiate goals including the game-winner as the Saints skated to a 5-0 win over Union College in ECAC Hockey action.

It was an evening of “firsts” for the Saints (13-9-7, 9-5-3), as Shields scored her first goals while senior Becky Street and first-year student Ashley Scott each earned their first assists of the 2009-10 campaign. The win moves the Scarlet and Brown (13-9-7, 9-5-3) to fifth place in the conference standings, only one point shy their Saturday opponent, Rensselaer. Meanwhile, Union falls to 5-23-1 (1-15-1) on the season.

The two squads played to a scoreless first period that saw a great deal of action in the neutral zone. The Saints finished with a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal, but Union netminder Alana Marcinko and St. Lawrence senior goalie Brittony Chartier kept the score at 0-0 through 20 minutes of hockey.

It wouldn't take the home team long to build a 1-0 lead in the second period, though, as Shields broke the scoreless tie only 35 seconds into the stanza. She took a face-off to Marcinko's right, won it cleanly and snapped a quick shot inside the near post for her first collegiate goal.

The score clearly energized the Saints' bench, as they rattled off two more goals in a span of 5:27 to take a 3-0 lead after two. First-year student Michelle Ng scored her eighth of the year at 3:13 by pouncing on a rebound at the top of Marcinko's crease, while classmate Kayla Sullivan made it 3-0 at 6:02 with her 10th of the season. Sullivan collected a pass from Street, cut into the slot and blasted a shot past Marcinko for the 3-0 cushion.

Chartier remained sharp, stopping all six of the shots that she saw in the period. The Saskatoon, SK native also caught a bit of good fortune when Lauren Hoffman's slap shot from outside the left circle got past her, but clanked off of the far post to keep her shutout bid intact.

The Dutchwomen continued to play hard in the third, as they controlled much of the action early in the period but simply couldn't get many shots on net. The Saints would capitalize at 11:49 when senior captain Tara Akstull hammered a shot from outside the left circle past a screened Marcinko for the 4-0 lead. The power play goal was Akstull's sixth of the year, while senior assistant captain Courtney Sawchuk and sophomore Alley Bero assisted on the tally.

Shields would cap the scoring in style with a beautiful 2-on-1 goal that put the finishing touches on a fantastic outing. As she carried the puck into Union's zone, the defender took away the pass forcing Shields to challenge Kate Gallagher, who had replaced Marcinko in net only moments earlier. The senior forward did just that, sniping a shot glove-side for a 5-0 lead and her second of the season. Senior assistant captain Britni Smith and Scott assisted on the goal.

St. Lawrence finished with a sound 32-15 advantage in shots on goal and also won the special teams battle, finishing 1-for-3 on the power play and a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Chartier made 14 saves to pick up the victory, while junior Nikki Bongaerts made a save in the final 10 minutes of the third period. Marcinko closed with 25 stops for Union while Gallagher added two more.

The Dutchwomen conclude the weekend at No. 3 Clarkson on Saturday at 4 p.m.