Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Manhattanville women's hockey team snapped a 13-game winless streak against nationally ranked opponents, while breaking the No. 4/3 Norwich Cadets' 12-game winning streak, in a 3-2 victory at Kreitzberg Arena on Friday evening.
 
The win was also the Valiants' first win over their conference foes for the first time since the 2011 ECAC East Conference championship game, in which the Valiants won by a score of 4-2 in Northfield.
 
The game started out tentative for both sides as neither team wanted to blink first and yield a goal in the early going. Just four minutes in, sophomore Michelle Meggiolaro had a chance on a breakaway but Norwich's Kelly Fisk was up to the task and stopped the attempt cold. With just over 10 minutes to go in the period, Jillayne DeBus had one of the Cadets' best chances in the period, but junior goalie Mary Evans (Ferndale, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) made a post-to-post save and kept the game scoreless.
 
Towards the end of the period Manhattanville took a penalty and gave Norwich a power-play chance, and with under 10 seconds left in the period the puck was crossed from left wing to right onto the stick of Tori Charron, who planted the puck top shelf and gave the Cadets a 1-0 lead with 6.5 seconds to go.
 
As play moved into the second period Manhattanville turned the tables on the Cadets quickly as sophomore Alla Traun (Edina, Minn./Minnesota Thoroughbreds (JWHL)) evened the game at one apiece after taking a pass from senior Mary Rose Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Connecticut Stars (MFYHL)) just 1:29 into the period.
 
Senior Alyssa Taylor (Craik, Saskatchewan/Sait Polytechnic (ACAC)) put the Valiants ahead 2-1 several minutes later, with helpers coming from freshman Brighid Noone (Quincy, Mass./Milton Academy) and senior Katie Little (Victoria, British Columbia/Team British Columbia). The lead was the first time Manhattanville had come from behind against Norwich since February 7, 2010, when the Valiants fell behind 1-0 and came back to win 7-2.
 
The Valiants killed off two short-handed opportunities during the second period, and were also unsuccessful on their first power-play chance of the night. The period came to an end with the Cadets leading 10-8 in terms of shots after 40 minutes of play but Manhattanville hanging on to the 2-1 edge on the scoreboard.
 
Manhattanville struck early again in the third period after senior Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School (Conn.)) went for a wrap-around attempt behind the net of Fisk. With the puck still loose in the crease, senior Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ontario/Kitchener Rangers (PWHL)) sent it between Fisk's legs and gave the Valiants a much-needed insurance goal with 2:25 gone by in the final period.
 
The Valiants fell back into a defensive position after the score, looking to hold onto their two-goal lead as the team blocked numerous shots and closed any passing lanes the Cadets tried to create.
 
With time working against the Cadets, they pulled Fisk in favor of an extra attacker. With 1:47 to go, Evans made yet another sprawling save and nearly had the puck covered, but the Cadets got the puck right back and lifted it over Evans to pull within one at 3-2 with 1:44 left to go in regulation.
 
Norwich continued to keep the offensive pressure on the Valiants, but Manhattanville continued to impress defensively and block shot after shot taken by the Cadets. The final horn sounded and Manhattanville had its first win over the Cadets in almost two years.
 
As a team the Valiants went 0-for-3 on their power-play chances, while Norwich converted on one of its five chances. Final shots were in favor of the Cadets at a 19-10 margin.
 
Earning her career-high 11th win of the season was Evans, who needed to stop 17 shots in order to secure the victory. Fisk was on the losing end to fall to 6-2-1 while making seven stops on the night.
 
With the win Manhattanville keeps its hopes for the top-seed alive in the ECAC East Conference, and with help from Nichols tomorrow coupled with a Valiant win over St. Michael's, Manhattanville can clinch the league's regular-season title.
 
Manhattanville (16-7-1, 14-2-1 ECAC East) wraps up its 2012-13 regular season tomorrow afternoon against the aforementioned Purple Knights of St. Michael's at 3:00 p.m. Norwich (18-3-3, 15-2-0 ECAC East) will host Nichols to finish off its regular season also at 3:00 p.m.