The nationally-ranked No. 10 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team got a pair of goals in the third period and a 32-save performance by rookie goaltender Carmen MacDonald en route to a 2-0 victory over Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. The shutout sets a new single-season record for MacDonald, while the win propels the Saints to the ECAC Hockey semifinals next weekend.

The Saints, now 22-9-4, will not know their opponent until the other two quarterfinal series are determined. Meanwhile, the Big Green sees their season end with an 18-10-2 mark despite a 37-save effort by Lindsay Holdcroft.

"As we expected, Dartmouth came out and played hard from the first minute of the game," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "It was a great playoff atmosphere throughout and we were able to make the key play in the third period to help us advance against a talented team on the road."

Though St. Lawrence had 12-8 and 16-10 advantages in shots on goal in the first and second periods, respectively, Holdcroft and the Dartmouth defense were able to keep the Saints off the scoreboard despite five power play tries.

On the other end of the ice, MacDonald was very sharp, turning away a breakaway try from Kelly Foley and several bids from around the crease.

With the game scoreless heading into a dramatic third period, Dartmouth began to swing the momentum in its favor, holding a 6-0 advantage in shots to open the stanza. However, a turnover along the boards in their own zone gave St. Lawrence senior Vanessa Emond the opportunity to break the scoreless tie. The Levis, QC native took a pass from sophomore Michelle Ng, worked through the crease to get Holdcroft out of position and backhanded a shot into the net for her 12th goal of the year to put the visitors on top, 1-0, 3:29 into the third.

Dartmouth's best chance to tie the game came on a chance for Reagan Fischer in the slot, but her shot was blocked by sophomore Mel Desrochers. The puck glanced off the defenseman's pads and led to a 3-on-1 break for the Scarlet and Brown the other way. Junior Kelly Sabatine crossed a pass to sophomore Rylee Smith who gave it right back to Desrochers in the middle. The Welland, ON native shot the puck towards net, and though Holdcroft was in position to make the save, a Big Green defender slid into the net and took the puck with her to give the Saints a key insurance goal at 12:27.

The final goal seemed to motivate St. Lawrence to close the door, as they worked the puck deep into the Dartmouth end and allowed minimal chances down the stretch. Though the home team had a late power play, MacDonald was able to hang on to earn her sixth shutout of the year to set a new University record.

St. Lawrence closed with a 39-32 advantage in shots, while neither team scored on the power play (SLU 0-for-5, Dartmouth 0-for-3).

The Saints will play again next weekend, Saturday, March 3 with opponent and time to be determined.