ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University women's ice hockey team clinched a home playoff game for the first time in school history on Saturday afternoon, earning a 7-1 victory over Lebanon Valley College on senior day in United Collegiate Hockey Conference (UCHC) action.
 
Helen Cooney was the first star on the day, stopping 24 shots to tie the program record for career saves. Jeannie Padden (2 g, 1 a) and Claudia Trionfo (1 g, 2 a) paced the Neumann offense on the afternoon with three points, while Katelyn Brown (2 g), Mollie Johnson (2 a) and Sid Squires (2 a) all chipped in with two apiece.
 
Knowing that a win would land the team it's first ever home playoff game, Neumann came out hungry to open the contest. The Knights fired 17 shots towards the Lebanon Valley net in the first frame, breaking through with the game's first goal at the 10:09 mark as Padden scored off a feed from Trionfo to make it 1-0. The Flying Dutchmen evened the contest up with a goal off a deflected point shot at 13:45, but it would be the last time the game would be tied. Neumann fought back before the end of the period, scoring with 48 seconds left in the frame. Some nifty passing from seniors Johnson and Emma Paton led to a one-timed bomb from the high slot from Padden to send the game to the second at 2-1 in favor of the Knights.
 
It wouldn't take Neumann long to open things up in the second stanza. Out-shooting the visitors by a count of 19-7 in the period, the Knights recorded three unanswered goals in the frame to jump out to a comfortable 5–1 lead. Kyleigh Prance, Mikaylee Henhawk and Brown all found the back of the net in the middle 20 minutes as the hosts began to pull away.
 
As the game moved to the third period, Cooney took center stage. Needing just ten saves to tie Shannon Donnelly's program record of 2365 saves, the senior goaltender was flawless in the final frame. Cooney stopped all ten shots she faced, tying the record with just over four minutes left to play. The record-breaking save will need to wait another week though, as Lebanon Valley could not muster any more shots in the final few minutes of the game. Neumann capped off the afternoon with two tallies in the final 20 minutes, as Brown registered her 22nd goal of the season and Trionfo lit the lamp for the ninth time to seal the 7-1 win and clinch a first round UCHC home game.
 
As the second seed in the UCHC South Division, Neumann (12-12-1, 9-6-1 UCHC) will host third seeded Stevenson University next Saturday, February 29th. Puck-drop for the playoff contest is slated for 12:00 PM.