By Jeff Sowa
The Niagara University women’s hockey team wore pink uniforms in support of breast health awareness Saturday night, and the players paid tribute to anyone ever affected by breast cancer with their on-ice performance in a 3-1 College Hockey America win over Robert Morris in front of 718 fans at Dwyer Arena.
Senior forward Jacqueline Spring entered the game without a goal scored this season, but had two by the end of the second period for Niagara.
“She’s been real close, and I’m real happy for her,” first-year coach Chris MacKenzie said. “Our team’s finding ways to win games, and scoring’s coming from different people, which is great.”
Added senior captain Frances McPhail on Spring’s outburst, “She played the game of her life. She’s really starting to shine and she was the player of the game for sure.”
Spring’s first goal came just 1:07 into the game. Teammate Kathleen Bortuzzo dished the puck off to Spring on a 2-on-1 breakaway, and Spring fired it home past the stick side of the Colonials’ Daneca Butterfield to put NU (5-4-2 overall, 2-1-0 CHA) up 1-0 early.
Spring’s second goal came 8:32 into the second period when she deflected a shot in front of the net off the stick of Christina Jablonski. Jamie Joslin scored for the Colonials (4-7-0, 0-1-0) on a power play at the tail end of the period to cut the Niagara lead to 2-1.
But the home team fed off the spirit of the crowd on “Pink the Rink” night, where all proceeds went to benefit the American Cancer Society as part of CHA’s “Skate for the Cure” promotion, to hold off RMU in the third period.
“We’ve never had a game like this before,” McPhail said. “Just seeing the crowd out there and having the passion on the ice, it was just an amazing atmosphere — something I’ve never been a part of before.”
McPhail played a large role in making “Pink the Rink” possible, and MacKenzie recognized the impact her work had on Saturday’s contest.
“When your captain is spearheading the effort and the girls are helping fundraise, it’s something special for everybody involved,” he said. “You could feel the energy and excitement in the air.”
Caitlin Jenkins closed out the scoring for the Purple Eagles in the third period, and junior goaltender Jenni Bauer made sure the Colonials wouldn’t make a run at a comeback. She made 17 saves on the night and withstood five of the six short-handed situations NU faced.
“The penalty kill was really good tonight, and Jenni’s been strong all year long,” MacKenzie added. “She gives us a great shot to win.”
Niagara squares off once again with Robert Morris at 2 p.m. today back at Dwyer.
