Seahawks skate to 4-4 tie with NEC

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Seniors Kristen Cokely (Cambridge, Mass.) and Kendra Andrie (Muskegon, Mich.) led four Salve Regina University players with two points each as the Seahawks skated to a 4-4 tie with New England College in Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women's East action Friday afternoon at St. George's Rink.

Sophomore Rachel Porter (Franklin, Mass.) and freshman Erin McCullough (Ludlow, Mass.) also added a goal and an assist for the Seahawks, who moved to 6-8-3 on the season (5-3-2 ECAC) and 2-1-3 in their last six games. Sophomore Stephanie Spera (Stoughton, Mass.) tallied a goal and two assists for the Pilgrims (8-3-3, 7-1-1 ECAC), who extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games (7-0-3).

The two teams were tied at three entering the third period before a power-play goal by McCullough at 8:56 put the Seahawks in front, 4-3. Andrie played the puck to sophomore Sarah McCusker (Havertown, Pa.) at the right point, and she fired a shot that was redirected by McCullough and past NEC sophomore goalie Teraysa White (Belgrade, Maine). Salve Regina held the lead until the 18:06 mark of the period when senior Rachel White (Arlington, Mass.) scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the game at four. Junior Kaleigh Costello (Hudson, Mass.) led a shot go from the slot that SRU junior goalie Rebecca Simmons (Averill Park, N.Y.) stopped with her glove, but the rebound came right to White, who deposited the puck into the right side of the net.

Salve Regina outshot the Pilgrims 5-3 in the overtime session but was unable to hand NEC its first conference loss of the season. "We played solid hockey against a solid team and ended up with a tie," said Salve Regina head coach Michael Cox. "New England College gets pucks in deep and is able to forecheck very well, and we had quite a bit of trouble breaking out of our zone. We did a better job in the third period of moving the puck out of our own end quicker. It was a hard fought game and both teams had opportunities."

The Seahawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals 1:03 apart in the first period. On the first Salve Regina goal, Porter cradled the puck along the boards and slid a pass to senior co-captain Sarah Small (Medfield, Mass.) at the right point. Small sent a slap-pass to Cokely at the left side of the net, and the senior redirected the pass in for her third goal of the season and second in two games at 12:58.

Just over a minute later, Andrie potted her seventh of the season to double the SRU lead. McCullough controlled the puck in the left corner, skated out and sent a pass through the crease than Andrie backhanded over White's glove at 13:55. The goal gives Andrie five points in her last four games while McCullough now had five points (2-3-5) in her last three games.

With just a few seconds remaining in the first period, the Pilgrims capitalized on a mistake by the Seahawks to cut the deficit to 2-1 entering the first intermission. Simmons skated out of the crease to clear a loose puck in the slot, but Spera got there first, skated around a sprawled out Simmons, and backhanded the puck into the empty net as time expired.

In the second, the Pilgrims tied the game on a great individual effort by sophomore Kate Kellar (Pittsfield, Mass.). She took a pass from classmate Alyssa Hoot (Waterville, Ohio), skated around an SRU defender, and pulled the puck back through the legs of Simmons for her fifth of the season at 7:29. A little more than a minute later, Porter collected the puck behind the NEC net and tucked a backhand shot inside the right post to give the Seahawks a 3-2 lead. The goal was her team-leading eighth of the season and was assisted by Cokely. Sophomore Samantha Hippern (Dover, N.H.) answered for NEC at 10:23 with her sixth of the year to tie the game at three. Spera picked up the lone assist on the goal.

New England College outshot the Seahawks 30-29 and went 0-for-4 with the man advantage. The Seahawks, meanwhile, converted on one of their five chances with the extra skater. Simmons finished the afternoon with 26 saves while White stopped 25 to move to 7-4-1 on the season.

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host Castleton State at 3 p.m. The Pilgrims travel to Worcester, Mass. to play Holy Cross Saturday at 1 p.m.