HOCKEY EAST HEADLINES

Merrimack earned a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Northeastern for just the second time in program history, thanks to a 29-save shutout from Calli Hogarth and a second-period tally from Alex Ferguson. The Warriors earned four league points on the weekend and are unbeaten in their last five outings (4-0-1).

Boston College earned five points and a weekend sweep of No. 15 UConn in their Hockey East openers. Freshman forward Julia Pellerin notched three points (2g, 1a) and sophomore goalie Grace Campbell made 59 saves in the two-game set.

No. 12 Vermont split a weekend home-and-home with St. Lawrence, earning a 6-2 victory on home ice on Friday. Reigning Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year Lara Beecher registered two goals and an assist while Jessie McPherson made 58 saves.

Holy Cross took a weekend split with Brown after both games needed overtime to decide a winner. Following a 4-3 road setback, Millie Sirum played hero in Saturday’s extra frame to deliver a 2-1 victory.

New Hampshire earned four points in league play, taking a 3-2 win over Maine and a shootout victory from Merrimack after skating to a 3-3 draw. Defense shined again for the Wildcats as Rae Breton blocked nine shots and scored the game-winning goal while rookie goaltender Sedona Blair stopped 55 of 60 shots in the two games.

HOCKEY EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Calli Hogarth - Merrimack

Calli Hogarth (So., G; Barrie, Ont.) posted a 29-save shutout against No. 7 Northeastern, backboning Merrimack to a 1-0 victory over the Huskies. She then made 20 saves in a 3-3 draw with New Hampshire to deliver a four-point weekend in league play for the Warriors. Hogarth is now unbeaten in her last four starts (3-0-1) with two shutouts.

PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Julia Pellerin - Boston College

Julia Pellerin (Fr., F: Windham, N.H.) recorded three points (2g, 1a) in the weekend sweep of No. 15 UConn. Her first goal on the weekend put the Eagles up 3-2 in the third period on Friday. She netted her second tally on Saturday, when she finished a shorthanded goal on the breakaway. She was on the ice for both of BC’s goals in the 2-1 road win on Saturday.

ARMY ROTC DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

Rae Breton - New Hampshire

Rae Breton (Gr., D; Brighton, Ont.) scored the game-winning goal and blocked nine shots in UNH’s 3-2 win at Maine. She followed that with three more blocked shots in a 3-3 tie against Merrimack the next day. Breton finished the week with a plus-one rating. Breton’s goal at 15:41 of the second period gave the Wildcats a 3-0 lead at Maine and it proved to be the game-winning tally. The nine blocked shots marked a career high.

STOP IT GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Grace Campbell - Boston College

Grace Campbell (So., G; Kensington, Md.) finished the weekend with 59 saves in two wins over No. 15 UConn, while allowing four goals. She was a huge factor in overtime on Friday, making three crucial saves to allow BC to counter. She stopped 26 of 27 shots on Saturday and also came up with some timely saves in the third period to allow for BC to complete the weekend sweep.

HOCKEY EAST TOP PERFORMERS

Sammy Smigliani, BC (Gr., F; La Jolla, Calif.) Had two assists on the weekend, including a highlight-reel saucer pass to Katie Pyne who scored the first goal for the Eagles in a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Sammy also contributed at the face-off dot with 18 face-offs won throughout the weekend. She played key minutes and was a big factor in a sweep of UConn.

Abby Newhook, BC (Jr., F; St. Johns, N.L.) Registered a goal and an assist in the two-game sweep of No. 15 UConn. Her goal was the overtime winner in Friday’s 4-3 triumph.. She also won 30 face-offs in the two games.

Jade Arnone, BC (So., D; Sherborn, Mass.) Logged heavy minutes in a two-game sweep of No. 15 UConn, blocking four shots.

Alex Ferguson, MC (So., F; Burlington, Ont.) Scored an unassisted goal 13:02 into the second period on Friday, lifting Merrimack to a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Northeastern.

Hayley Chang, MC (Jr., D; Coquitlam, B.C.) Racked up three points (1g, 2a) in a 3-3 draw with New Hampshire on Saturday. Her two helpers both came on the power play, while her tally stood as the lone even strength marker of the game. She finished the 1-0-1 weekend with a plus-two rating.

Sydney Leonard, UNH (Fr., F; St. Bonifacius, Minn.) Scored two goals in regulation to lead UNH to a 3-3 tie against Merrimack and then scored the only goal in a best-of-three shootout to give the Wildcats an extra point in the Army ROT Hockey East standings. It was the first multi-goal and multi-point game for the rookie, who has tallied a point in five of six games this season.

Sedona Blair, UNH (Fr., G; Eden Praire, Minn.) Stopped 55 of 60 shots for a .917 save percentage and 2.50 GAA with a 1-0-1 record in the opening weekend of Hockey East action. In a 3-2 win at Maine, Blair made 15 saves in the first period and 13 more in the second to backbone the Wildcats to a 3-0 lead, and she finished with a career-high 36 saves. The second Black Bears’ goal was with an extra attacker with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Blair stopped one more shot with eight seconds on the clock to preserve the win. Blair turned aside 19 shots, including one in overtime, in the 3-3 tie against Merrimack and then stopped each of the first two shots in the shootout to help UNH earn the extra point in the league standings by virtue of the 1-0 shootout win.

Lara Beecher, UVM (So., F; Buffalo, N.Y.) Registered two goals and an assist in Saturday’s 6-2 win over No. 11 St. Lawrence. On the weekend she was a plus-four for the No. 12 Catamounts. Jessie McPherson, UVM (Sr., G; Chatham, Ont.) Made 58 saves in a weekend split against No. 11 St. Lawrence. She made 32 saves on Friday to backbone Vermont to a 6-2 victory. This effort marked her second consecutive game and seventh career outing with 30 or more saves.