The women’s hockey team extended their winning streak to seven over the weekend with a sweep of ECAC east opponent Holy Cross. On Friday night, the women broke out early with a goal by Jennifer Onksen less than halfway into the first period. The Engineer offense pushed on, with Onksen scoring again with three minutes left in the second to extend the RPI lead to two.
Holy Cross stormed out of the gates in the third period, and their energy paid off. Just 34 seconds into the period, Crusader Kolt Bloxon scored with help from Sarah Wetherbee to come within one goal. The Engineers looked to push away, and at 1:42, they got their chance. Holy Cross forward Erin Williams took a cross-checking penalty, and the RPI power play capitalized on it 46 seconds later. Senior Sara Riel found the net, and seven minutes later, freshman Julie Welte scored to put the game out of reach. Lane Dielwart capped off the victory with a five on three goal, and RPI beat the Crusaders 5-1.
In the Saturday night rematch, Engineer goalie Julie Vallarelli was the difference. Vallarelli stopped all 28 shots she faced to tally her fourth shutout of the year. The Engineers’ offense sparked as well, with three players tallying three points or more. Welte, a standout forward from Pueblo, Colorado, had a hat trick, pushing her goal total of the year to 13. Junior Deanna Dougherty tallied a goal and two assists in the victory, and Katie Woodward also had three assists.
The Engineers will travel to Cambridge next weekend to take on the lowly MIT Engineers. The real test of the season will be when RPI goes to Manhattanville to play the number one Valiants. The Engineers are currently third in the ECAC east, trailing Manhattanville by six points and RIT by one, with two games in hand.
