GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College ice hockey team scored four goals in the first period and never looked back as it defeated New England College 8-0 in a New England Hockey Conference contest at The Cooler this evening. With the win, the Herons are now 7-7-1 overall this season and 5-4-0 in conference play.
 
Emma Faso (2g, 1a) and Mackenzie O'Neil (1g, 2a) led the way for William Smith with three points each. Lauren Jackson scored twice in the victory. In total 12 Herons found their way onto the scoresheet. Annie Hauser stopped all 16 shots she faced as she earned the shutout.  Thea Joero made 22 saves and Hannah Podvey stopped 16 shots in goal for the Pilgrims (4-8-1, 1-5-1).
 
KEY STATS:

• William Smith finished the game with a 46-16 advantage in shots on goal.
• The Herons were 1-for-3 on the power play. NEC was 0-for-2 with the extra skater.
• The eight goals were the most the Herons scored in a game since a 9-2 victory over Wilkes on Feb. 8, 2020.

 
FIRST PERIOD:

• William Smith took a 1-0 lead at the 3:22 mark of the first period. Jackson intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, skated into the right faceoff circle and ripped a shot past Joero for her second goal of the season.
• Six minutes later, Sydney Foster pocketed her third goal of the season, poking a loose puck across the goal line. Her sister Brittany Foster was awarded an assist on the goal.
• The Herons broke the game open with just over three minutes left in the frame. Emma Faso ripped a shot from the left faceoff circle over the goalie's blocker and into the upper corner of the cage. Her second goal of the season was assisted by Annabel Ziskin and Kelly Howe.
• Izzy Friedman made it a four-goal game with 43 seconds remaining in the opening period. She intercepted a pass at her own blue line, raced the link of the ice and slipped a shot through the goalie's legs.
• William Smith outshot New England College 16-2 in the opening 20 minutes.

 
SECOND PERIOD:

• Jackson made it 6-0 with her second goal of the game. Just past the midway point of the second period. Twenty seconds into a 5-on-3 advantage she blasted a shot past Joero. Her third goal of the season was assisted by O'Neil and Ava Cornforth.
• The Herons had an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal in the middle stanza.

 
THIRD PERIOD:

• William Smith put the game out of reach with three goals in the third period.
• Mia LaPlante pocketed her fourth goal of the season 46 seconds into the frame. Her goal was assisted by Lauren Legler.
• At the 16:38 mark of the third period, Faso notched her second goal of the game, one-timing a pass from O'Neil past Podvey. Alex George also had an assist on the tally.
• O'Neil wrapped up the scoring with 58 seconds remaining in regulation. She ripped a shot from the slot into the upper left corner of the cage. Her fourth goal of the season was assisted by Faso.

 
COACH's CORNER:
"Tonight was a great team win," Head Coach Matt Cunningham said. "Everyone did something to contribute and we played a pretty complete 60 minutes. Our habits and attention to the details were solid from the first puck drop."
 
UP NEXT:
William Smith will be back in action tomorrow, Jan. 7, when it welcomes seventh-ranked Norwich to The Cooler. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.