Vikings End Season With 6-2 Loss To Pilgrims

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

HEINKER, N.H. -- Alexsis Hornby (Atkinson, N.H.) scored twice to give New England College a 6-2 New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) victory over Salem State on Saturday afternoon at Lee Clemont Park. The Pilgrims go to 7-18-0, 2-16-0 while the Vikings finish their campaign with a record of 5-18-2, 2-14-2.

Prior to the game Holly Catarius (Holden, Mass.) spoke about how much she progressed from preseason until now "I think I have definitely gained a lot of confidence on the ice and my ability to communicate and to work with the girls on my team has been awesome. We get along really well off the ice so that translates to the ice very well."  She also added about Kaia Hollingsworth (Methuen, Mass.) breaking the all-time saves record last night against #10 Norwich.  "It's awesome. I am super proud of her, that's a really big accomplishment. That's a lot of saves and she keeps us in a lot of our games so I know we are really grateful for her."

Coach Ray Kizzie talked about how important it would be to finish the season on a high note. "You want to finish on a high note. You want positivity, you want good energy, good momentum building towards next year. So very few teams win their last game of the season so we want that."

In the opening minutes of the game, the Pilgrims were awarded their first power play opportunity, but the Vikings managed to successfully kill it off. Despite the power play, Celeste Scoppettuolo (Revere, Mass.) came close to scoring the first goal of the game with a shot that was only inches away from giving the Vikings a 1-0 lead. However, Hannah Podvey (West Coldwell, N.J.)  made an excellent save, deflecting the shot off the pad.

New England College struck first when they scored the first goal of the game late in the period, with Alexis Hornsby (Atkinson, N.H.)  displaying her impressive speed and skill as she skated towards the net moving left to the right before slamming the puck home to give the Pilgrams a 1-0 lead.  Olivia Lindberg (Stockholm, Sweeden) and Gilchrist provided the assists at the 17:29 minute mark. 

The Vikings didn't take long to respond, with Emma Ramsey (Harrisburg, SD) scoring a beautiful goal from the right side of the ice, thanks to a perfect pass from Scarlet Chatham (Dallas, TX.).  Chatman and Scoppettuolo were credited with the assists at the 19:16 mark, bringing the score to 1-1.

At the end of the first twenty minutes of regulation, both teams headed to the second period tied at one, with the game still up for grabs.

The Pilgrims had a power play early on in the period, and they took advantage of it, with Hornsby scoring her second goal of the game from the left side. Gilchrist and Lindberg provided the assists, putting the Pilgrims ahead 2-1 at the 2:14 mark.

After the game coach Kizzie talked about the Vikings missing their chances. "… they give us our chances on the power play. We had two five on three's; we couldn't capitalize. If we do it changes the [dynamic] of the game there."

Hollingsworth, the Vikings' goaltender, made some incredible saves, diving to prevent New England College from scoring their third goal. 

Late in the second period, Alexis Thomas (Barnstable, Mass.)  was sent to the box at the 18:08 mark, leading to a Pilgrims' five-on-four power play that turned into a five-on-three power play when Chatman went to the box at the 19:48 mark. This situation carried into the last period of regulation.

Throughout the first two periods, the Vikings had 29 faceoff wins compared to the Pilgrims 24. However, the Vikings were 0 for 4 in power plays, while New England College was 1 for 5. Hollingsworth saved 21 of 23 shots on goal, while Podvey saved 14 of 15 shots.

During the final 20 minutes of the game, the Pilgrims scored twice within 25 seconds. Gilchrist scored from the left side, beating Hollingsworth to make it 3-1 at the 3:13 mark. New England then added an insurance goal with Pouliot's help, extending their lead to 4-1 at the 3:38 mark.

Although the Vikings were down by three, they were still looking to make a last-minute rally to get back into the game. However, Podvey prevented that from happening. Hollingsworth attempted to save a shot, but the puck slipped through her legs as Kelly scored the fifth goal, with Conley Ladabouche (Barre, Vt.) and Pouliot being credited with the assists.

The Pilgrims were on another power play, and they made the most of it, with Kate Devlin (Walpole, Mass.) scoring, assisted by Samantha Babbitt (Woodstock, Vt.)  and Mikayla Vincent (Newburyport, Mass.), bringing the score to 6-1.

Both teams were on the power play when Tea Miles (Northfield, Vt.) and Vincent went to the box, and 12 seconds before the power play was about to expire, Pouliot also joined them. Greene managed to score a power play goal with backhander and putting it inside the net, with Scoppettuolo and Aislinn Bennett providing the assists to reduce the Pilgrims' lead to 6-2 at the 15:51 mark.

After the game Greene the senior from Methuen talked about the goal. "Obviously scoring the last game of the season is pretty good feeling. It is a perfect way to go out obviously and I wish we could've won…"

Hollingsworth saved 29 of 35 shots, while Podvey saved 22 of 24 shots. Sean D'urso saved two shots coming into the game during the final two minutes. In terms of power plays, the Vikings went 1 for 6, while the Pilgrims went 2 for 7. Salem State won 45 faceoffs compared to New England College's 37.

After the game coach Kizzie reflected on the 2023-24 season. "For me coming out here I only had three skates with the team and we just went into it right away… definitely a lot of learning moments, a lot of growing pains and a lot of things to walk away from better in moving forward…"