Seahawks, Pilgrams skate to 1-1 tie

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - The Salve Regina University women's hockey team skated to a 1-1 tie with New England College in Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) action Saturday night at St. George's Rink.

Sophomore Kaleigh Costello (Hudson, N.H.) scored her fourth goal of the season for the Pilgrims, who earned a pair of points on their two-game weekend trip south following a tie with Manhattanville on Friday night. Freshman Caitlyn Farragher (Plymouth, Mass.) scored her first collegiate goal for the Seahawks, who remained unbeaten in their last 11 games (8-0-3).

"I thought we were slow and lacked energy (tonight)," said Salve Regina head coach Michael Cox. "We tried to get out of the funk that we were in, but it just wasn't there tonight. We didn't have any energy. Pucks were hopping over sticks. We had a bunch of two-on-one's that we were unable to convert. Every team in our league is good, and we have to continue to improve, otherwise some of those teams are going to pass us."

The two teams skated to a scoreless tie through the first 20 minutes of action. NEC's best scoring opportunity came midway through the first when sophomore Taryn Moffat (Montrose, B.C.) broke in alone on sophomore goalie Rebecca Simmons (Averill Park, N.Y.), who made a glove save to keep the game scoreless. Minutes later, the Seahawks had a pair of odd-man rushes, bur shots by junior Molly Golden (Milton, Mass.) and freshman Melanie Sherlock (Colorado Springs, Colo.) were turned aside. Each team took six shots in the opening stanza.

The Pilgrims broke through with the game's first goal at 10:44 of the second period. Junior Rachel White (Arlington, Mass.) fired a shot on goal from the right boards that was redirected by Costello and past Simmons. Less than four minutes later, the Seahawks answered to tie the score at one. Junior Kristen Cokely (Cambridge, Mass.) cradled the puck behind the net a slid a pass to Farragher, who fired a wrist shot past White for her first collegiate goal at 15:15. Classmate Samantha Zitzer (River Forest, Ill.) picked up the second assist on the goal.

The Pilgrims controlled the majority of play in the third period, outshooting the Seahawks 9-5, but Simmons was able to hold her team close with several key saves through a maze of NEC skaters. She finished the evening with 26 saves while sophomore Teraysa White (Belgrade, Maine) stopped 25 of the 26 shots she faced for NEC.

"They're very good. They are quicker than we are and probably a little bit stronger than us as well," said Cox. "Their goaltending is very strong. They're a tough team."

The Pilgrims went 0-for-4 on the power play while the Seahawks failed to cash in on all five of their chances with the extra skater.

The Seahawks return to action on Tuesday when they host Trinity at 7 p.m. The Pilgrims host Wesleyan Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m.