Seahawks fall 3-2 to Valiants

RYE, N.Y. – The Salve Regina University women's ice hockey team is defeated by Manhattanville 3-2 on Friday night.

Senior Aubrey Bachand (Harwichport, Mass.) tallied two goals in the first four minutes of play, propelling the Valiants to the win over ECAC East opponent Salve Regina. A goal from Salve Regina defender Amanda Cronin (Medfield, Mass.) with just 1:37 remaining in the third period made things interesting, but the Valiants were able to hold on for an important conference victory.

The Valiants controlled play from the drop of the puck and quickly established an early 1-0 lead. Just 17 seconds into play junior Melissa Hauptman(Smithtown, N.Y.) moved the puck forward to freshman Cassandra Kent (Lake Placid, N.Y.) who broke into the zone and slotted a pass into the high slot where Bachand released a quick snap shot, beating freshman goaltender Colleen Marcik (Madison, Conn.) on the first shot the young goaltender would face at the collegiate level.

Just three minutes later Bachand put her second goal in, the assists coming from Hauptman and Kent again. As play unfolded, Hauptman threw a puck towards goal, after hitting some traffic in front the puck settled at the feet of Bachand who turned around and , making an effort to get the puck towards goal, was able to get a piece of the puck with her stick. With traffic in front, the puck fluttered through the air, over the head of Marcik, and landed behind the keeper in the goal. 2-0 Valiants, 16:37 remaining in the first period.

Salve Regina was able to generate scoring opportunities sparingly throughout the first period. With just over three minutes remaining defender Kimberly Spring (Kensington, Conn.), in a savvy hockey move, fired a puck towards the low far-side of the goal, forcing senior goaltender Kirsten Shaughnessy (Le Center, Minn.) to extend her leg to make the kick save. Making the initial save, Shaughnessy kicked the rebound directly to Danielle Phalon  (Stoneham, Mass.) who was crashing the goal. Phalon was able to get the puck past Shaughnessy to cut the Valiants lead to one goal heading into the first intermission.

The second period of play featured a lot of back-and-forth hockey with both teams creating numerous scoring opportunities. The Valiants defense was steadfast, closing down the shooting lanes and preventing the Seahawks from generating many serious scoring chances. On the other end, Marcik made some big saves and freshman Sarah Sinning (Southold, N.Y.) hit the post late in the period.

As it seemed the teams were heading for a scoreless second period, the Manhattanville power play came through for the second time of the day. After receiving a pass from fellow defenseman Rachael Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.), freshman Karly Kapur (Sparta, N.J) fired a shot just outside of the post. Kapur's shot caromed off the dashers behind the goal and ended up on the stick of senior Michele Meggiolaro (Whippany, N.J.) who was wasted no time burying the puck into the back of the net with just 9.9 seconds remaining in the second period.

Manhattanville continued to dominate play in the third period with Salve Regina generating offense intermittently. Cronin's goal, late in the third period, made things a little too close for comfort but the Valiants were the better team and earned a deserved victory.

The Valiants have a quick turnaround as UMass Boston visits Playland Ice Casino tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Saturday's game will be the first time these two teams meet since the Beacons defeated the Valiants in the ECAC East Quarterfinal last season. There will be a lot on the line, including a 3-0 start in ECAC East Conference play.

Salve Regina, now 1-2, will return home to Rhode Island to host New England College on Saturday November 15 at 7:30 p.m.