Box Score STAMFORD, Conn.  - The Manhattanville women's ice hockey team defeated the Salve Regina Seahawks on Wednesday afternoon by the score of 4-1 at the Terry Conners Rink. With the victory the women's hockey team has clinched a top-2 seed for the upcoming ECAC East Conference Tournament.

The game itself was delayed at the start by just over two hours due to a malfunction with the ice-resurfacing machine, for that the entire women's hockey staff as well as the athletic department sends its thanks to the staff and crew at Terry Conners Rink for their efforts and patience earlier this afternoon, working to fix the issue as quickly as possible prior to the start of the contest.

In the game, four different Valiants found the back of the net including seniors Jessica Kehoe (Kemptville, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats (PWHL)), Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Saskatchewan/Sait Polytechnic (ACAC)) and Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School (Conn.)), while sophomore Trenah Stauffer (Salmon, Idaho/Colorado Select (JWHL)) netted the game-winning goal in the second period.

The first period saw no scoring from either side, as both Manhattanville junior Mary Evans (Ferndale, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) and Salve Regina's Ali Muehlbronner made several important saves to send the game to the second period still scoreless. In the first period the Seahawks led in terms of shots at an 11-5 margin.

In the second period scoring picked up in the seventh minute of the period, it was Kehoe to start the scoring. After Kehoe stripped the puck from Salve Regina, she threw the puck to classmate Katie Little (Victoria, British Columbia/Team British Columbia) behind the net then received the puck again and put the Valiants up 1-0 by way of the one-timer past Muehlbronner.

Twenty-two seconds later the Valiants found the back of the net once again to take a 2-0 lead. After receiving a pass from her own zone, Occhionero raced down the right wing and threw the puck into the slot. Taking the pass was Stauffer, being shielded by a Salve Regina player, who backhanded a shot into the goal and put the Valiants ahead 2-0 with 7:56 gone by in the second period.

It didn't take long for Salve Regina to get right back into the game, when a costly turnover gave the puck right away to the Seahawks in the middle of the ice. Monika Borkowski sprinted with the puck down the right wing and tossed the puck towards the net, Evans made the initial save but Shelby Johnson reached in on goal and poked the puck over the goal line to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

Stauffer got in on the action once against after blasting a puck off the endboards behind the Seahawk net, which bounced right to Little. The senior shot the puck on goal with the rebound bounding right to Taylor, who in turn lifted the puck over Muehlbronner to give the Valiants a 3-1 lead. The power play goal was Taylor's first of the season.

The period came to an end nine minutes later and Manhattanville skated to the dressing room with a 3-1 lead. After 40 minutes of play, shots were still in favor of Salve Regina 21-19, as Manhattanville added 14 shots in one of their best periods of the season in which they netted three goals.

The third period was very similar to the first, in that no scoring was done until the ginal minute of play when Salve Regina's goal was pulled in favor of an extra skater, with the net empty and the puck pinned against the boards in the corner, senior Mary Rose Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Connecticut Stars (MFYHL)) dug the puck out and led a pass to younger sister Rachael Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Sound Shore Warriors (MAWHL)). Her pass went to Occhionero, who skated to the Seahawks' blue line and threw the puck towards the net and iced the game with the empty net goal.

The Valiants finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play, with Taylor's goal coming on the man-advantage. Salve Regina was 0-for-5 on it power play chances. The crimson and white closed out the game winning 41-of-69 faceoffs at the dot, led by Kehoe winning 18-of-28 and classmate Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ontario/Kitchener Rangers (PWHL)) going 11-for-17.

Manhattanville (15-7-1, 13-2-1 ECAC East) will wrap-up the regular season this weekend starting with a matchup with No. 4/3 Norwich on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. followed by a contest on Saturday with the St. Michael's Purple Knights to end the year. Salve Regina (13-9-0, 9-6-0 ECAC East) will continue its roadtrip up New England College and Castleton this weekend, before finishing off the year next Monday with a makeup game againt Nichols.