KEENE, N.H. – Makenna Montgomery could only do so much in goal for Keene State College on Friday night, as her team's offense was unable to get going, and the Owls fell 4-0 to Western New England University, despite her 48 saves in net.

Records

• Keene State: 1-2
• Western New England: 3-0

Postgame Interview (Rob Morgan)

How it Happened
Both teams had scoring opportunities in the opening two minutes of the contest, but after WNE's goaltender Rachael Irving made a pair of saves in the open 39 minutes of play, KSC's goaltender, Montgomery, saved two shots in goal for the Owls shortly after. KSC had the first power play opportunity of the day, after Irving was called for a trip, but the Owls' opportunity did not pay off, as Camden Ladzinski and Paige Henault were both denied by Irving making saves in net. On the other end of the ice soon after, Montgomery made three saves over the course of 10 seconds, which included robbing Mabel Gerard of a goal from WNE on the doorsteps of the crease. After Irving made two more saves in net near the halfway point in the first period, KSC went on back-to-back penalty kills, as they escaped the first one by only allowing two shots on goal that Montgomery saved. The Owls weren't able to stop the WNE attack on their second power play opportunity, as after Montgomery made three saves, a rebound fell to Jenna Lynch, and Lynch was able to flick a shot into the back of the net to put WNE up 1-0 with 7:24 left in the first period. Montgomery held strong the rest of the period, as she did not allow a goal by making nine saves, four of which coming on another power play opportunity for the Golden Bears that KSC was able to kill to limit WNE's lead to one heading into the first intermission.
 
KSC opened the second period strong on the attack in the first 1:20, as the Owls had three shots on goal, one coming from Brianna Finke, and the other two coming from Emma McNeil, but Irving saved all of the shots from KSC. Over the next 8:40 of the period, WNE outshot KSC in shots on goal, 9-4. Montgomery was able to save the first eight shots from the Golden Bears, but after a pair of back-to-back saves a second apart, the rebound fell to Lynch on the edge of the crease again, which she put into the back of the net, halfway through the second period for a 2-0 lead for WNE. Over the next eight minutes, WNE had another two separate power play attempts, but the Owls killed them off easily by blocking five shots on defense and three saves made in goal by Montgomery. After KSC had a power play opportunity in the final two minutes of the period, and had their three shot attempts on goal saved by Irving, Rory Owens was called for a holding penalty that sent the final 13 seconds of the period to 4-on-4 play. Six seconds after the penalty, WNE won the offensive zone faceoff, which led to Ziya Damas netting her third goal of the season to put WNE up 3-0 heading into the final 20 minutes of play.
 
WNE did not let their foot off the gas in the final period, as they recorded 11 shots on goal over the opening 6:28, but Montgomery shut the Golden Bears down to limit their lead, with hopes of her team's offense getting going soon on the other end of the ice. Unfortunately for the Owls, Irving continued to make three more saves in goal over the next minute, to prevent KSC from getting on the board. With 10:35 left to play in the contest, WNE tacked on their fourth goal, as Montgomery made the initial save on the shot from Alana Bouthillette, but AnnaBelle Calvanese was ready for the rebound as she scored her first collegiate goal to put WNE up 4-0. Neither team scored the rest of the way, as KSC had one more power play opportunity, but Irving saved both shots on goal during the power play. Montgomery made five more saves in net the remainder of the game, as WNE held on for a 4-0 win over the Owls.
 
 
"They are learning to compete at this level, so I like the fact that they are showing up and competing" said head coach Rob Morgan. "We just got to keep focus on improving in our fundamentals" Morgan said when looking forward to their next game against Rivier University.
 
Inside the Crease

• WNE outshot KSC in shots on goal, 52-27, with Montgomery making 48 saves in goal for KSC and Irving making 27 saves in her shutout for the Golden Bears.
• WNE had the edge on faceoffs, as they won 33-for-57 (57.9%), while Ava Iantosca led the way going 8-for-14 (57.1%) and Henault going 10-for-22 (45.5%)
• Haylee Owen led the Owls with 12 blocked shots on defense, while Finke and Iantosca also recorded four blocked shots each.

Up Next
Keene State is on the road for their next contest as they will take on Rivier on Friday, November 15, at 7:00 PM, before returning home the following day to host Rivier.
WNE hosts Worcester State University on short rest, as they will play at home on Saturday, November 9, at 7:00 PM.