Women’s Ice Hockey Falls to Plymouth St. in MASCAC Championship

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Rivier women's hockey team fell to Plymouth St. in the second-longest game in NCAA Division III women's ice hockey history, a 2-1 marathon at Hanaway Rink on Friday night, in the inaugural Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Championship.

The game went to four overtime periods and lasted 126:55, finishing just 1:11 shy of the all-time record.

With the loss, the Raiders closed their season with a record of 15-11-1 while the Panthers finished out their campaign with an 18-7-2 record.

After a scoreless first period, the Panthers struck first when Emily Guerrie's shot was deflected wide by senior goaltender Rachel Hinkley, but Lauren McNeill buried the rebound to put Plymouth St. on the board.

The Panthers kept the pressure on, outshooting the Raiders 8-4 for the rest of the period, but they couldn't extend their lead, heading into the final frame up 1-0.

The Raiders pulled even midway through the final period when first-year Keegan McGaheran intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and fed senior Paige Anger. Anger's shot was deflected into the path of sophomore Tia Picardi, who tucked it into the back of the net with 9:03 remaining. Rivier upped the pressure, outshooting Plymouth State 5-1 in the closing minutes of regulation but couldn't find the go-ahead goal as the game headed to overtime tied 1-1.

After 40 minutes of overtime, the teams remained deadlocked, with the Panthers holding a 16-7 shot advantage during that span. The Raiders had an early power-play opportunity in the third overtime, but Plymouth St.'s penalty kill stood strong. Rivier then faced back-to-back penalties over a six-minute stretch but allowed just four shots on goal, successfully killing both as the game pushed into a fourth overtime.

At the 6:55 mark of the fourth overtime, Juliet Rutigliano fired a shot from the left circle that deflected in front and into the net, sealing a dramatic 2-1 victory for the hosts.

Senior Grace Arsenault and junior Olivia Schultz led the Raiders with a team-high three blocked shots, while six teammates contributed two blocks each.

Hinkley delivered a career-best 66 saves in the contest. She capped off her season with 514 total saves to produce a .950 save percentage over nine wins.

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Marykate Drinkwater, Rivier closed the season in historic fashion, setting program records for most wins and the best conference finish in team history.