PURCHASE, N.Y. – Only two more games stand between the #10 Manhattanville women's hockey team and the NCAA Division III Tournament, as the team will travel to Norwich University's Kreitzberg Arena for the semifinals and potentially the finals of the ECAC East Conference Tournament this weekend.
National #10 Manhattanville (17-7-2, 13-4-1 ECAC East) is the second seed in the tournament and will take on fifth-seeded UMass Boston (14-10-1, 9-8-1 ECAC East) on Saturday afternoon at noon in the first game of the day. Top-seeded and national #3 Norwich hosts sixth-seeded Southern Maine (8-16-2, 5-12-1 ECAC East) in the second semifinal starting at 3 p.m.
The Valiants reached the semis after defeating seventh-seed Castleton State last Saturday, 8-1, at Playland Ice Casino. Senior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ontario/Saint Thomas Aquinas) finished the game with her second hat-trick of the season, as the Valiants completely dominated the Spartans. Freshman Haleigh Hutchinson (Allen Park, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) was also a top performer on the ice finishing with a pair of goals, while sophomores Mary Rose Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Connecticut Stars (MFYHL)) and Jessica Kehoe (Kemptville, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats (PWHL)) finished with three points each: Morrison dished out three assists and Kehoe added a goal and two helpers. Sophomore Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School (Conn.)) gave the top line another pair of points with a tally and an assist, as the Morrison-Occhionero-Hutchinson unit finished with seven points and was a threat all game long.
Fifth-seeded UMass Boston returns to the semifinals after defeating fourth-seeded Salve Regina, 2-1 (OT), on Saturday. Lauren Duran scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning goal in the overtime period, to propel her squad. Leading the Beacons this season is Kristen Smith with 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. Goaltending is a major factor to UMass Boston's success this season as starter Leah Hallett has posted a 10-8-1 record with a 2.53 goals against average.
The Valiants began the season with a 5-1 victory over the Beacons at Playland, as sophomore Katie Little (Victoria, British Columbia/Team British Columbia) scored a pair of goals to give Manhattanville its first win of the season. Morrison and Kehoe also tallied for the Valiants along with junior Hannah Muskego (Neilburg, Saskatchewan/PWM Steelers (AMMFHL)). Sophomore netminder Emy Cote (Saint-Hubert, Quebec/Dawson College) made 16 saves in the win, but Hallett kept her team in the contest with 34 saves in the defeat.
Hallett was the difference in the second meeting at the Clark Athletic Center in late January, making 47 stops for the program's first-ever win over the Valiants. The Beacons took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Katie Kirwan and Smith after the first period and held on for the 3-1 win. Sarahanne Cavolo scored the insurance marker later in the final period to secure the victory.
Saturday's game can be heard live on WMVL 88.1 FM and GoValiants.com as WMVL will have the free audio call of all Manhattanville games this weekend. The ECAC East Conference will also have a pay-per-view video stream offered on FastHockey.com.
