Shepherd's OT goal sends Salve Regina to semis

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - Salve Regina University senior forward Taylor Shepherd (Quincy, Mass.) broke free for the game-winning goal at 6:40 in overtime to lift the second-seeded Seahawks 3-2 over seventh-seeded Nichols College in ECAC Women's East quarterfinal action at St. George's Ice Arena.

The Seahawks found themselves in a fight with the seventh seeded Bison from the get go. Nichols outworked Salve Regina in the first period and led 1-0 at the break.

In the first period the Bison were beating Salve Regina to all the lose pucks, and applying great pressure on the fore-check forcing turnovers and keeping Salve Regina out of their game. The hard work paid off late in the period. Amanda Cronin (Medfield, Mass.) made an aggressive move to challenge at the blue, trying to lay a hit on Talia Hohmann (Marina, Calif.). Cronin missed on the hit and Hohmann kept going. She streaked down the right wing and had a slap shot be initially saved by Colleen Marcik (Madison, Conn.), but the rebound fell towards the open net and Julia Mastrototaro (Holden, Mass.) tapped it in to give Nichols the lead.

The Seahawks needed to come out strong in the second period or risk falling further behind the Bison who were playing with a lot of confidence. In the playoffs, it doesn't matter what happened earlier in the season, only what happens that night on the ice. The Bison had been shutout twice by the Seahawks but were leading 1-0 almost midway through the biggest game of the year for both teams.

The Seahawks had an initial surge to begin the second but the Bison tilted the ice back in their favor reestablishing their position in the neutral zone and at the blue lines. Then at 7:45 of the second Danielle Phalon (Stoneham, Mass.) peeled a puck off the boards behind the net and muscled her way to the front wrapping the puck around and past Bison netminder Tori Gianformaggio (Huntington Beach, Calif.) to tie the game.

The goal sparked the Seahawks and they continued to throw pucks at the net as they surged to try and take the lead. The Bison weathered the storm though, thanks to selfless play by the Bison defenders who routinely sacrificed the body to get in the way of Salve Regina's shots, and the play of Gianformaggio. The senior goalie gobbled up the puck anytime it came near her, limiting the amount of rebound chances for the Seahawks.

Then with under two minutes to go in the period, just when it seemed things were starting to tilt back in Nichols' favor Jordan Fencl (Amana, Iowa) was called for checking putting Salve Regina on the power play. 39 seconds later Taylor Shepherd scored on a shot that had eyes, navigating its way through a maze of defenders and finding the back of the net to give the Seahawks a 2-1 lead and momentum heading into the third.

Chances abounded for both sides in the third period. The Seahawks had a couple in close opportunities, but were turned aside by Gianformaggio. Meanwhile the Bison continued to try and rocket the puck on Marcik from the wing, even hitting the post on a two on one break.

The Seahawks still led 2-1 late when the Bison misfired on a pass and it careened down the ice heading for icing. It had appeared that the Seahawks had won the race to the puck but the icing call never came and in the meantime the Bison continued to play, centering the puck in front of Marcik where senior Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) jammed it home to tie the game 2-2 at 17:17 of the third.

The teams traded blows in the final three minutes but the game remained tied, forcing an overtime period.

The Bison had their best chance of the overtime period early when Laura Christie (Hudson, Mass.) was able to finesse her way around Grace Nardiello (Lake Placid, N.Y.) and back hand a shot on goal that Marcik saved with the glove.

At 6:40 gone in the extra frame Taylor Shepherd corralled a puck in the neutral zone and broke straight for the net, giving a quick forehand backhand deke before returning to her forehand to tuck a shot over the glove of Gianformaggio and send Salve Regina to the Semifinals.

The Seahawks held the Bison to 0-3 on the power play and doubled up their shots, outshooting Nichols 32-16.

The Bison end their season with the best record in program-history at 8-18-0, meanwhile Salve Regina improves to 15-8-1, 14-4-0 in the ECAC Women's East and will travel to Northfield, Vt. for the next round on Saturday March 7.