Women’s Hockey Fall in OT at NEC
MCLA dropped a non-conference tilt at NEC this evening.
HENNIKER, N.H. – The MCLA Women's Ice Hockey team kicked off their 2025-26 season this evening with a road non-conference battle with the New England College Pilgrims at the Lee Clement Arena. The team swapped first period goals before settling in for a defensive struggle that would need bonus hockey to determine a winner. NEC's Jamie Blondin scored 80 seconds into the overtime period to secure a season opening win.
THE BASICS:
- Date: Friday, October 31, 2025
- Score: MCLA 1, NEC 2
- Records: MCLA Trailblazers 0-1-0 (MASCAC 0-0-0) | New England College Pilgrims 1-0-0 (LEC 0-0-0)
- Series History: NEC now leads the all-time series 3-2. MCLA took both meetings of the teams last season as part of a home-and-home series. MCLA won the first game 4-1 in North Adams on November 1st and 3-2 in Henniker on November 2nd. NEC took both meetings of the teams in 2023 as part of another home-and-home series. NEC won the first game 7-3 in Henniker on December 1st and 5-1 in North Adams on December 2nd.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
- The Pilgrims were the first ones on the board when Meadow Gilchrist (8:09, assisted by Kate Devlin) notched her team's first goal of the season.
- MCLA needed a little over three minutes to respond when first-year forward Brooklyn Ekblad (Williston, ND / Williston High School) (11:17, Danchak) knocked home a pass from junior forward Maggie Danchak (Chalfont, PA / Philadelphia Little Flyers). The goal and the assists were the first of the season for both players.
- Following a scoreless second and third period that saw NEC outshoot the Trailblazers 39-11, the Pilgrims closed out the game 80 seconds into the overtime frame when Jamie Blondin (1:20, Samantha Babbitt) found the back of the net.
- NEC's Anna McGinty stopped 22 of 23 shots and picked up the win to move to 1-0-0. The Trailblazers' junior goalie Kaitlyn O'Brien (Ridley Park, PA / Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) recorded 54 saves on 56 shots but still fell to 0-1-0.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Shots: MCLA 23, NEC 56
- Saves: MCLA 54, NEC 22
- Faceoffs Won: MCLA 25, NEC 33
- Penalty/Minutes: MCLA 1/2:00, NEC 2/4:00
- Power Plays: MCLA 0 for 2, NEC 0 for 1
UP NEXT:
On Friday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to SUNY Canton at the Roo House Ice Arena for a non-conference matchup with the Roos. The puck will drop at 7 p.m.
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