MANCHESTER, N.H. – A late goal by freshman Zoey Pellowitz (Arlington, Va./Washington Pride) forced overtime and helped Manhattanville pick up a much needed point against first place Saint Anselm Saturday afternoon with a 2-2 tie in New England Hockey Conference play inside Sullivan Arena.
 
Pellowitz netted her third goal of the season with 33 seconds to play with a 6-on-4 advantage to force overtime. Junior Sarah Sinning (Southold, N.Y./National Sports Academy) tallied her seventh goal of the year for the first Valiant goal. Senior Taryn Harris (Morrison, Colo./Colorado Selects), junior Karly Kapur (Sparta, N.J./N.J. Colonials), and freshman Amanda Sabia (Freehold, N.J./The Gunnery) were each credited with an assist on the day for one point. Sophomore goaltender Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) stopped 41 shots in the tie, remaining unbeaten in NEHC play, now at 6-0-1 for the year. Hannah Synnott stopped 18 shots for Saint Anselm, giving her a 3-1-1 record in NEHC play.
 
It was a defensive battle in the first period between the first and third place teams in the NEHC standings. Saint Anselm controlled the tempo early, holding the puck in the offensive end for much of the first ten minutes of action in the contest but the Valiant defense stood tall against the attack. Pijaca stopped all 11 shots she faced during the period, and the special tams unit of the Valiants killed off three penalties to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard in the opening stanza. Manhattanville mustered four shots on goal but Synnott stopped each one and the teams remained scoreless at the first intermission.
 
Both teams found the back of the net in the middle period with Saint Anselm jumping on top midway through the period to make it 1-0 in favor of the home squad. Sinning and the Valiants responded 29 seconds later however, tying the score with 9:41 to play in the frame.  After back and forth action, the Hawks beat Pijaca again top shelf off the stick of Kaitlyn Spillane to make it 2-1 Hawks as the teams went into the locker room for the final time.
 
The Hawks controlled the puck in the offensive end for most of the third period once again, but with less than one minute remaining, Manhattanville pulled Pijaca for the extra attacker and drew a penalty against Saint Anselm. With a 6-on-4 advantage, Pellowitz found the back of the net on a pass from the point from Harris with 33 seconds to play to force overtime.
 
In the extra period, it was all Hawks once again in the first part of the frame, but Pijaca stopped all three shots she faced to keep the Hawks out of the back of the net. The Valiants had two opportunities, but could only get one shot on target and Synnott needed just one save to keep the score tied and finish in the 2-2 draw.
 
Manhattanville picks up a much needed point with the tie to keep hold of the two seed in the postseason standings, five points clear of third place UMass-Boston with four games to play. Manhattanville will host Nichols on Friday at Playland Ice Casino at 7:00 pm.