O’Brien Stops 77 Shots, Rivier Take Down Women’s Hockey

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Women's Ice Hockey team opened their home and MASCAC schedule this evening when they welcomed the Rivier University Raiders to the Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Rink. Kaitlyn O'Brien stopped an MCLA record 77 shots but five Raiders combined for seven goals to power Rivier to their second MASCAC win of the season.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
• Score: Rivier 7, MCLA 1
• Records: Rivier University Raiders 2-2-0 (MASCAC 2-0-0) | MCLA Trailblazers 0-4-0 (MASCAC 0-1-0)
• Series History: Rivier now leads the all-time series 7-1. The Raiders took the previous meeting of the teams by the score of 5-2 in North Adams on February 22, 2025. Rivier also took the first-ever meeting of the teams by the score of 3-0 in Nashua on January 26, 2024.

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• Rivier put the first point on the board, scoring a power play goal with just over six minutes expired off the clock. Casey Roth (PP, at 6:22 of the 1^st period, McGaheran & Hallee) was credited with the goal while assists were noted for Keegan McGaheran and Jillian Hallee.
• MCLA rallied back to level the game with a goal of their own when junior defenseman Rebekah Ade (Cameron, SC / New Jersey Colonials) intercepted the Raiders' attempt of getting out of their own defensive end. Ade (13:51, unassisted) then skated in on goalie and buried the shot in the back of the net. The goal was the first of the season for Ade and the sixth of her career.
• With just over 90 seconds left in the first period, Rivier retook the lead when Mary Kelley notched her first goal of the night. Kelley (18:27, McGaheran & Bryda) was noted as the scorer while the assists went to McGaheran and Chloe Bryda.
• A rough start to the second period for the Trailblazers set them behind some long odds. Rivier posted three goals in the first eight minutes of the second frame. The goals were notched by Roth (3:57 of 2^nd period, Kelley), Kelley (4:25, Pacardi & Ella Spinazola), Tia Pacardi (7:48, Roth & Haylie Grossman). The Raiders did add one more goal in the second period when Lexi Davies (19:06, Lillian Wojicki) lit the lamp.
• Despite being outshot 26-3 in the third period, the MCLA only allowed Rivier one additional goal. The lone goal went to Giada Musa (15:36 of 3^rd period, unassisted)
• The third period was indicative of the night with Rivier holding an 84-16 advantage in shots on net, with 11 of MCLA's 16 shots coming in the first period.
• The Raiders' Kailyn Williams stopped 15 of 16 shots to pick up her first win of the season, moving to 1-0-0. For the Trailblazers, junior goalie Kaitlyn O'Brien (Ridley Park, PA / Philadelphia Jr. Flyers) recorded 77 saves but still saw her record fall to 0-3-0.
• O' Brien's night was the most saves by an MCLA goalie in the program's three year history, topping a 69 save showing by Juliet Barney at Williams College on January 16, 2024.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Shots: Rivier 84, MCLA 16
• Saves: Rivier 15, MCLA 77
• Faceoffs Won: Rivier 35, MCLA 31
• Penalty/Minutes: Rivier 2/4:00, MCLA 3/6:00
• Power Plays: Rivier 1 for 3, MCLA 0 for 2

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Salem State and the RockettArena for a MASCAC matchup with the Vikings. The puck will drop at 6 p.m.

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