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NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Manhattanville women's hockey season came to an end on Sunday afternoon as the Valiants fell in the ECAC East Championship game to the Norwich Cadets by the score of 6-3. Manhattanville built up a 2-0 first period lead but Norwich scored six of the last seven goals to capture the title.
The Valiants took advantage of Norwich's slow starting ways by jumping out by scoring two goals in a two minute span started off by junior Lauren Nutkevitch (Montreal, Quebec/Dawson College) shooting the puck through traffic from the top of the zone that ended up going five hole on Norwich goalie Kelly Fisk to put Manhattanville up 1-0.
Less than two minutes later, the Valiants got another power play chance and took full advantage as well, when senior Jackie Solomito (Sea Cliff, N.Y./Niagara University (CHA)) took a wrist shot from the top of the right wing circle that Fisk had initially made the glove save on but the puck bounced out of her glove and trickled over the goal line to put the Valiants up 2-0. Sophomore Mallory Watts (Bloomfield, Mich./Honeybaked (MWEHL)) picked up the primary assist and junior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Saskatchewan/Sait Polytechnic (ACAC)) picked up her team-leading 15th helper of the season.
As time was winding down in the first the Valiants took a penalty with 1:50 to go in the period to give Norwich an extra skater chance which they capitalized on 30 seconds later to cut the lead in half at 2-1. With 24 second to go in the period the Cadets evened up the score at two sending it into the first intermission tied.
Just over a minute into the period the Cadets took their first lead of the game as eventual ECAC East Tournament MVP Jillayne DeBus scored her 19th goal of the season. Later in the frame Manhattanville goalie Emy Cote (Saint-Hubert, Quebec/Dawson College) made a sprawling save but allowed a long rebound that was lifted over her and into the vacant net to put the Cadets up 4-2. Norwich controlled the majority of the second period outshooting the Valiants 12-5 in the frame.
In the third both teams killed off a penalty each through the first nine minutes of the period with no success as the score held at 4-2 with Fisk and Cote turning away shots sent their way. At 9:52 into the period the Cadets added their fifth consecutive goal to take a three goal lead. Under three minutes later the Valiants clawed back into the game as junior Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ontario/Kitchener Rangers (PWHL)) added her ninth goal of the year after taking a pass from sophomore Haleigh Hutchinson (Allen Park, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) for her second helper of the game.
Ten seconds after the goal, Manhattanville took another costly penalty and gave Norwich another power play chance which they took advantage of just as the penalty was near expiration as ECAC East regular season Player of the Year Julie Fortier netted the final Cadets goal to finish off the scoring at 6-3.
With 51 seconds to goal the Valiants pulled Cote from the cage in favor of the extra skater but with two seconds left in the game Manhattanville took a frustration penalty and were unable to get a scoring chance in the final minute.
With the win, Norwich clinches the ECAC East Championship for the third time in the last four years and with it, the league's automatic qualifying bid to the 2012 NCAA Tournament. The Cadets join RIT, Middlebury, Gustavus Adolphus and Wisconsin-River Falls as the five teams to earn their leagues automatic bids. The final two at-large selections will be decided by the NCAA selection committee tomorrow afternoon as will seeding and locations of the tournament games.
Manhattanville ends the season with a 15-9-4 overall record and will look ahead to the 2012-13 season hoping to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing in the championship game, Manhattanville junior was named to the 2012 All-Tournament Team after her four goals and one assist through the ECAC East Playoffs, joining Little on the team were Castleton goalie Paula Stephens as well as Norwich's Kaycie Anderson, Fortier and Brittany Sharman were also named to the team.
