ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University women's ice hockey team claimed a crucial two points in the United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) standings on Friday afternoon, skating past visiting Chatham University by a score of 6-1.
 
Katelyn Brown (1 g, 2 a) and Sid Squires (2 g, 1 a) led the Knights on the afternoon with three points apiece, while Mikaylee Henhawk, Sophia Parrish and Claudia Trionfo also scored for Neumann. Helen Cooney stood tall in goal, making 34 saves to pick up the win.
 
A relatively slow start from both teams gave way to a frenetic final few minutes of the frame, as the Knights came on strong to end the period. Out-shooting the Cougars by a count of 14-6 in the opening 20 minutes of play, the hosts found their breakthrough at the 14:13 mark via a nifty piece of skill from Brown. The junior forward danced her way around a Chatham defender and deked the goalie before depositing the puck under the net-minder's arm for her 20th goal of the season to give Neumann a 1-0 lead. Trionfo doubled that lead with under a minute left to go in period, picking up a rebound from an Emma Paton point shot before burying her eighth goal of the year to send the Knights to intermission up by a pair.
 
Chatham battled its way back into the contest in the second stanza with 14 shots compared to just nine for Neumann. The Cougars cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the frame, but the Knights would not let the visitors complete a comeback. The hosts retaliated just two minutes after the Chatham goal to regain a two-goal lead at 3–1. Brown was again the catalyst on the goal, driving hard to the cage on an odd-man rush and allowing Squires to slam home a rebound to send the game to the third with Neumann holding a bit of insurance.
 
The Cougars continued to come at the Knights in the final frame, but stellar goaltending from Cooney stymied any chance they had to get back into the game. Neumann then sealed the game away late with three third period tallies. Squires scored her second of the night at 7:12, Henhawk found the back of the net just over a minute later to make it 5-1, then Parrish capped off the scoring with her first career goal at 13:10 to clinch the conference victory.
 
Neumann (11-12-1, 8-6-1 UCHC) will clinch a first round home playoff game if they can take down Lebanon Valley College tomorrow afternoon. Puck-drop for tomorrow's senior day conference contest is scheduled for 2:00 PM.