Women's Hockey Finish Sweep of NEC

HENNIKER, N.H. – The MCLA Women's Hockey team took to the highway for their first road game of the 2024-25 season, rematching with the New England College Pilgrims after their 4-1 win. Carlen Bertrand stayed hot for the Trailblazers, scoring twice, while Alexandrea Bednar scored a goal and assisted on another in MCLA's 3-2 road win.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, November 2, 2024
• Score: MCLA 3, NEC 2
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 2-0-0 (MASCAC 0-0-0) | New England College 0-2-0 (NEHC 0-0-0)
• Series History: The Trailblazers and Pilgrims are tied in the all-time series 2-2, including a 4-1 win last night. NEC won the first-ever meeting between the teams 7-3 on December 1, 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS

• With less than a minute remaining in the first period, sophomore defenseman Carlen Bertrand (Timmins, ON / Sudbury Wolves) performed what is quickly becoming a trademark maneuver going coast-to-coast after picking up the puck that NEC had dumped in behind the Trailblazers' net. Bertrand streaked down the right wing, circled in at the right faceoff circle, and fired a shot on the net. While Kayden Lallier-Whissell stood tall in the net for the first shot, the rebound returned to Bertrand, who didn't let the second chance go to waste and knocked the puck home.
• Less than three minutes into the second period, the Pilgrims pulled back to even with MCLA when Olivia Lindberg scored her first goal of the year. Meadow Gilchrist and Samantha Babbitt were credited with the assists.
• The tie was short-lived, with MCLA retaking the lead only 23 seconds later. NEC attempted to dump the puck into the Trailblazer end, but Bertrand stopped the puck along the left side boards and chipped it ahead to sophomore forward Nicolette Bardsley (Gilbertsville, PA / Chatham University) who passed it ahead to senior forward Alexandrea Bednar (Vita, MB / University of Wisconsin - Eau-Claire). Bednar picked the puck up at the blue line and skated in on Lallier-Whissell and flipped a shot just below the crossbar into the back of the cage with 3:07 off the clock. The goal was Bednar's second of the season.
• The scoring wasn't done for the second period because Bertrand then provided what would turn out to be a valuable insurance goal just over four minutes later, scoring a power-play goal with an assist from Bednar. NEC's Abbey Keyes was called for interference to set up the man advantage for MCLA with 6:49 elapsed in the period. After 21 seconds, the Trailblazers converted when Bertrand kept the puck inside the blue line and fired a wrist shot that found its way through traffic and past the goalie. The goal would be Bertrand's fourth of the season and Bednar's first assist, putting the visitors ahead 3-1.
• Before the end of the second period, the Pilgrims cut the lead back to one on a goal from Cordelia Hauck (15:25, assisted by Kate Devlin and Jamie Blondin).
• Much like the night before, when all the scoring was contained in the first two periods, NEC kept the pressure on MCLA in the third, outshooting the Trailblazers 9-4 in the final frame. The Pilgrims finished with a 36-20 edge in shots on net.
• MCLA junior goalie Juliette Barney (Braintree, MA / Anna Maria College) stopped 34 of 36 shots to pick up her first win of the season, moving to 1-0-0, while Lallier-Whissell stopped 17 of 20 shots and fell to 0-1-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: MCLA 20, NEC 36
• Saves: MCLA 34, NEC 17
• Faceoffs Won: MCLA 28, NEC 42
• Penalty/Minutes: MCLA 3/6:00, NEC 4/8:00
• Power Plays: MCLA 1 for 4, NEC 0 for 3

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Hilbert for a non-conference matchup with the Hawks at the Northtown Center. The puck will drop at 8:10 p.m.

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