Box Score
TROY, NY – Junior Sarah Daniel (Calgary, AB/Bowness Bruins) had a hat trick and an assist – all in a five-goal first period – to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s hockey team to an 11-1 victory over Sacred Heart University at the Houston Field House. Rensselaer, which is playing its first season as a Division I program, improves to 2-0-0 while the Pioneers are now 0-2-1.
Daniel had a hand in four of RPI’s five first period goals for a commanding 5-0 lead after the first period. RPI’s captain, she tallied her first goal of the game and second of the season six minutes into the game. Her second goal of the game came just 1:02 later and then she set up a goal by Julie Welte (Pueblo, CO/Colorado Xtreme) at 11:27. Following a Jamie-Lynn Stewart (Cambridge, ON/Cambridge Jr. Fury) goal at 13:47, Daniel notched an unassisted goal with just 52 seconds left in the first stanza.
Rensselaer got second period goals by sophomore Brooke Thompson (Rochester, NY/Rochester Edge) and freshman Nicole McDonald (Ottawa, ON/Ottawa Raiders) and freshman Jaime Jacquard-Sowa (North Vancouver, BC/BC Breakers) added an unassisted goal early in the third period to make it 8-0. McDonald added a four-on-four goal at the 12:58 mark and freshman Emily Donowick (West Seneca, NY/Nichols School) scored at 14:44 of the third. Freshman Gina Arnone (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater-Raritan) ended the shutout bid with a 5-on-3 goal at the 16:07 mark but RPI got the goal back just 1:05 later when freshman Donowick tallied a shorthanded goal to close out the scoring.
In addition to Daniel, McDonald (2 goals, 1 assist) and Donowick (2 goals), other Rensselaer student-athletes with multiple points were Welte, Stewart and Jacquard-Sowa, each of whom had a goal and an assist. Freshman defenseman Melanie Guillemette (North Bay, ON/Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres) added two assists.
In goal, freshman Emily Ford (Plymouth, MA/Assabet Valley) made 13 saves for the win in her collegiate debut. Junior Stephanie Boulay (Anchorage, AK/Groton School) made seven saves on 13 shots in the first 19:08 before being relieved by sophomore Sarah Perry (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury). Perry finished with 25 saves.
Rensselaer returns to action on Friday night when they travel to Colgate (7pm). Those same two teams play in Troy the following night at 7pm. Sacred Heart is back on the ice when it hosts Robert Morris on Friday night at 7pm.
