O'FALLON, Ill. - Fifth-ranked McKendree University women's hockey (12-6-1) started its 2024 with a four-game homestand, taking three of four at the McKendree Metro Rec Plex. The Bearcats hosted Arizona State, Michigan State, and UMass over the weekend, taking round one over No.7 ASU, 5-0, while also taking out the No.15 Spartans, 8-1, and UMass, 2-1. McKendree fell in the weekend finale, which was game two versus the Sun Devils, 5-2. McKendree continues its calendar-opening homestand on January 25-27 when No.2 Liberty, No.8 Minot State, and No.11 Jamestown all make the trip to Ilinois for ranked-bouts.
GAME 1 | vs No.7 Arizona State (Box)
McKendree looked to open the 2024 calendar year with a commanding win, and did just that over a seventh-ranked Sun Devils' squad. The Bearcats fired off two scores in the first two periods with junior defense
Aria Groot firing her fourth of the season half-way through the first period while sophomore forward
Jayna Barnden tallied a power play goal in the second. McKendree led 2-0 following the first 40 minutes of action behind 16 shots while holding ASU to 11 shots with no scores.
The Bearcats didn't let up in the third, scoring three goals to push the lead to five goals. freshman forward
Abby Jeffers tallied the first and third scores of the period while sophomore forward
Kerstyn Barron added a power play goal between. McKendree claimed the opener 5-0 with 26 shots on goal while going 2/6 on power plays.
Sophomore goaltender
Rachel Staresinic earned the win in goal, grabbing 23 saves and her first collegiate shutout.
Scoring
P1 | #13
Aria Groot (4) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (10), #15
Jayna Barnden (8)
P2 | #15
Jayna Barnden (9) via #13
Aria Groot (19), #96
Kiley Hasenfratz (7)
P3 | #3
Abby Jeffers (6) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (11), #15
Jayna Barnden (9)
P3 | #22
Kerstyn Barron (5) via #13
Aria Groot (20), #15
Jayna Barnden (10)
P3 | #3
Abby Jeffers (7) via #2
Isobelle Hobbs (3), #73
Lilia Brown (1)
GAME 2 | vs. No.15 Michigan State (Box)
The Bearcats welcomed the 15th-ranked Spartans to the Rec Plex and went down in the first period, 1-0, even while out-shooting MSU, 13-2, in the period. McKendree followed up its deficit with a seven-goal swing to lead by six after the second 20 minutes of play. Freshman forward
Julia Koski tied the game less than two minutes into the period. Jeffers fired the eventual game-winner in the seventh minute during a power play and then put up another insurance score five minutes after her game-winner.
The Bearcats put up four more goals after the Jeffers' pair with sophomore forward
Janaya Laqua, freshman defense
Mya Kubrakovich, sophomore defense
Julia Defosse, and Groot each tallying one. There was one more insurance score in the third period by McKendree with Groot scoring her second of the game, pushing the lead to seven goals. The Bearcats went on to win, 8-1, with 50 shots sent on-frame with a 2/7 mark on power plays.
Sophomore goaltender
Paige Hunt collected the victory during full time in net, grabbing nine saves.
Scoring
P2 | #40
Julia Koski (4) via #13
Aria Groot (21)
P2 | #3
Abby Jeffers (8) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (12), #15
Jayna Barnden (11)
P2 | #3
Abby Jeffers (9) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (13)
P2 | #14
Janaya Laqua (5) via #16
Brooklynne Painter (2), #7
Larisa Gorgevska-Sharpe (6)
P2 | #6
Mya Kubrakovich (2) via #96
Kiley Hasenfratz (8)
P2 | #13
Aria Groot (5) via #25
Charlotte Cloutier (2), #14
Janaya Laqua (4)
P2 | #91
Julia Defosse (1) via #11
Brittney Kambeitz (3), #41
Jaynee Smothers (4)
P3 | #13
Aria Groot (6) via #15
Jayna Barnden (12), #96
Kiley Hasenfratz (9)
GAME 3 | vs. UMass
Game three saw a quick lead built for the Bearcats as Barron found the back of the net less than a minute into the contest, putting McKendree to a 1-0 advantage. UMass managed to tie the game in the closing minutes of the first period, knotting the game at one goal a piece. The Bearcats put up the game-winner in the second period with Jeffers firing her 10th of the year.
McKendree held onto the lead for a third-straight victory with freshman goaltender
Fruzsina Szabo getting the win with nine saves.
Scoring
P1 | #22
Kerstyn Barron (6) via #13
Aria Groot (22), #57
Lainy Stienstra (3)
P2 | #3
Abby Jeffers (10) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (14), #57
Lainy Stienstra (4)
GAME 4 | vs. No.7 Arizona State
McKendree hosted ASU for a second matchup on Sunday afternoon, looking to get the clean sweep weekend after starting 3-0 since Thursday. ASU kicked-off quickly with two first period goals. In the third, ASU added three more scores while the Bearcats kept battling until the end. The Bearcats recorded two late-game scores with Barnden and Hasenfratz each tallying scores.
McKendree fell in the weekend finale, 5-2, to the Sun Devils.
Scoring
P3 | #15
Jayna Barnden (10) via #3
Abby Jeffers (9), #13
Aria Groot (23)
P3 | #96
Kiley Hasenfratz (7) via #22
Kerstyn Barron (15)
NOTES
McKendree posted a 3-1 record during its 2024-opening weekend, grabbing two ranked wins in dominant fashion. The Bearcats defeated No.7 Arizona State and No.15 Michigan State.
Freshman forward
Abby Jeffers tallied six points behind five goals and one assist. The freshman also fired two game-winners on the weekend, helping chalk up the wins against Michigan State and UMass.
Sophomore forward
Kerstyn Barron amassed eight points with six assists and two goals with two assists on game-winners. Barron tallied multiple points in three games, against ASU (game one), Michigan State, and UMass.
Sophomore forward
Jayna Barnden ended the weekend with seven points, firing two goals and dishing-out two assists. In the first ASU battle, Barnden scored or assisted on four of five goals.
Junior defense
Aria Groot also collected eight points over the 3-1 weekend, scoring three goals and assisting on five other scores. Groot now totals 23 assists on the year, which is second in both ACHA women's divisions this season.
Sophomore goaltender
Rachel Staresinic earned her first ACHA shutout in the 2024-opener against Arizona State on Thursday evening. Staresinic now owns five wins this year with a 1.97 goals allowed average and 242 saves.
UP NEXT
January 25 | 2:30PM vs. No.2 Liberty | McKendree Metro Rec Plex - O'Fallon, Illinois
January 26 | 2:30PM vs. No.8 Minot State | McKendree Metro Rec Plex - O'Fallon, Illinois
January 27 | 3:15PM vs. No.11 Jamestown | McKendree Metro Rec Plex - O'Fallon, Illinois
