RYE, N.Y. – For the second-consecutive year, it's a 9-0 season-opening win for the Manhattanville College women's hockey team. The Valiants dominated King's College at the Playland Ice Casino on Friday night, lighting the lamp nine times against the Monarchs to get the new campaign off to a hot start. The Valiants will begin the year and UCHC play with a 1-0-0 record.
Leading the offensive charge was
Gabrielle Cox (Niverville, NY/Ichabod Crane High School), picking up right where she left off a season ago. After leading the Valiants in scoring last year, the senior forward set a new personal best with five points on four goals and an assist. The hat trick is Cox's second of her Manhattanville career.
Fjolla Berisha (Mahopac, N.Y./Brewster Lady Bulldogs (NEGHL)) joined her classmate Cox is a multigoal night, scoring twice.
Lindsay Reyes (Chino Hills, Calif./SUNY Cortland),
Brysha Schmidt (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./The Millbrook School) and
Morgan Miller (St. Augustine, Fla./Gilmour Academy) would all also get into the scoring column in the win, with the trio all scoring goals and notching an assist, with the junior transfer Reyes dishing out a pair of helpers.
It took just over a minute for the party to get started at the Ice Casino, as 62 seconds after the opening faceoff Cox scored her first of the night on an unassisted goal. Â Three minutes later, Miller netted her first of the year off assisted from Reyes and Schmidt. Reyes would go on to net her first as a Valiant with two and a half minutes remaining in the first before Cox closed out the period with her second of the game, another unassisted tally. Through the opening 20 minutes, the Valiants held a 16-1 shot advantage and a 4-0 lead.
Manhattanville doubled their lead in the second period, firing 27 shots over the ensuing 20 minutes. While the Monarchs were able to keep the potent Valiant attack in check for the first half of the period, Berisha would break through off an assist from Cox 12:03 into the second to increase the Valiant lead to 5-0. Two minutes later, while the Valiants were attempting to kill off a penalty, Cox struck again with a shorthanded goal to complete her hat trick. Schmidt and Berisha would light the lamp over the final three and a half minutes of the period to give the home team an eight goal advantage entering the final 20 minutes. Schmidt's tally would be assisted by Reyes, while
Lille Dougherty (Wakefield, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey School) and
Catrina Chinetti (Hyde Park, Mass./Boston Latin Academy) notched helpers on the final score of the second.
Not quite done with her already stellar performance on the night, Cox had one last trick up her sleeves, scoring a power play goal 1:34 into the third off assists from
Grace Felicio (Holden, Mass./Wachusett Regional) and Miller. With the final horn sounded, the Valiants held a 57-9 shot advantage.
With most of the action occurring on the opposite side of the ice, it was a fairly quiet night for
Franny Gerardi (Yonkers, N.Y./Selects Academy) in net for her season debut. A year after setting the program's single-season saves record, the senior netminder stopped all nine shots fired her direction to collect the season-opening shutout.
The Valiants also dominated the faceoff battle, 44-14. Miller went 18-3 in the circle, while
Annie Niedermier (Calgary, Alberta, Canada/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame) won 12 draws.
Manhattanville was a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, holding the Monarchs to just three shots with the man advantage while also scoring the shorthanded goal. On the other side, the Valiants were 1-for-4 on the power play, firing 17 shots.
Up Next
The two teams will conclude their weekend series tomorrow with a 3 p.m. puck drop at the Playland Ice Casino.
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