Women’s Ice Hockey Skates Past Framingham St., 5-1, in MASCAC Quarterfinals

NASHUA, N.H. – The No. 3 seed Rivier women's ice hockey team took down No. 6 Framingham St. by a final score of 5-1 in Wednesday evening's Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Quarterfinals matchup at Conway Arena.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 14-10-1 and into the semifinal round. Framingham St. bowed out of the inaugural MASCAC Tournament with the loss.

Rivier began the opening frame outshooting the Rams 11-1 through the five-minute mark. Just shy of the 13-minute mark, sophomore forward Rebecca McKelvey broke the deadlock with a backhander in the top left corner off a feed from junior defender Jillian Hallee. With 1:39 remaining in the first period, Framingham St. potted an equalizer to make it 1-1 after 20 minutes of action.

The second period was a back-and-forth with Rivier edging the Rams in shots, 13-7. The Raiders earned a powerplay opportunity late in the frame and capitalized on the advantage as McKelvey gathered a loose puck off the boards and connected with Hallee at the blue line. Hallee rifled in a shot that was turned away but redirected to the stick of senior forward Briana Paxson. Paxson punched in her ticket with 23.6 seconds remaining and gave Rivier a 2-1 lead heading into the second intermission.

The Raiders began the third period just as they finished the second, scoring 17 seconds into the period. Senior forward Breezy Parent tipped in a shot from Hallee from the blue line that was then deflected by McKelvey, extending Rivier's lead to 3-1. 26 seconds later, Parent found twine once again off another feed from McKelvey on the powerplay bringing Rivier's lead to three. McKelvey and Parent linked up for a third and final time in the contest, closing out the match 5-1.

Senior goaltender Rachel Hinkley recorded 21 saves in the victory. McKelvey led the scoring efforts with five points (2-3-5), with Hallee and Parent close behind with three points apiece. As a team, the Raiders outshot the Rams 59-22 and controlled the faceoff circle winning 41 draws to Framingham St.'s 29.

Rivier will play No. 2 Worcester St. Friday afternoon in the MASCAC Semifinals. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:50 p.m. at the Worcester Ice Center.