Posted: Feb 24, 2011

Seahawks host Beacons in ECAC quarters

Rachel Porter is tops on Salve Regina with 21 points

NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University women's ice hockey team will host an Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Women's East Quarterfinal playoff game against UMass Boston on Saturday, February 28 at 2 p.m. at St. George's Rink in Middletown.

The Seahawks earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament after completing the conference season with a 9-7-2 mark (10-12-3 overall). Salve Regina enters the playoffs riding a three-game win streak which has seen it defeat ECAC foes Nichols (2-1), Plymouth State (3-0), and Southern Maine (3-2). The Beacons, meanwhile, earned the No. 5 seed following a 9-8-1 ECAC season (13-10-1 overall). UMass Boston boasts a 4-1-1 record in its last six games and also owns wins over perennial ECAC powers Manhattanville (3-1) and Holy Cross (4-3) this season.

"One of our goals this season was to earn a home playoff game, and we were able to do that with a pair of wins last weekend," said head coach Michael Cox. "We haven't had a lot of home games this year, but we've had great fan support and look forward to playing in front of them on Saturday."

Sophomore Rachel Porter (Franklin, Mass.) leads the Seahawks with 21 points and is tied for the team lead in goals (10) with classmate Melanie Sherlock (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Sherlock brings a three-game goal scoring streak into this weekend's playoff contest. The forward pairing of senior Kendra Andrie (Muskegon, Mich.) and freshman Erin McCullough (Ludlow, Mass.) has also proven to be an effective one for Cox. Andrie finished second on the team in scoring with 15 points (9-6-15) and has recorded 10 points (6-4-10) in her last 12 games. McCullough, meanwhile, finished third on the Seahawks with 14 points (8-6-14) in 20 games and has nine points (4-5-10) in her last 10 games. She also ranks fourth in the ECAC in freshman scoring with 12 points (6-6-12) in 14 conference games. In goal, junior Rebecca Simmons (Averill Park, N.Y.) and sophomore Ali Muehlbronner (Glenside, Pa.) combined to post a 2.77 goals against average (GAA) and a .908 save percentage in 2010-11.

Senior Kristen Smith (Beavercreek, Ohio) led the Beacons in goals (13) and points (22) during the regular season. She also potted a team-high three game-winning goals. Classmate Rachel Sousa (Woburn, Mass.) dished out a team-high 12 assists and finished second with 21 points, followed by senior Lauren Duran (Woburn, Mass.) with 16 points (10-6-16) and senior Katie Kirwan (Centerville, Mass.) with 13 points (4-9-13). In goal, junior Leah Hallett (Rocky Hill, Conn.) posted a 5-7-1 mark with a 2.59 GAA and a .926 save percentage.

The Beacons hold a 9-6-1 edge in 16 all-time meetings with Salve Regina, but have dropped five of the last six meetings, including a pair of games earlier this season. The Seahawks defeated the Beacons 5-3 in Boston on Saturday, November 13, then returned to 'The Bay State' on Friday, February 4 and blanked UMB 6-0.

This is also the second time the two schools have met in the playoffs. Two years ago, the Seahawks traveled to Boston for an ECAC Women's East Quarterfinal matchup and hung a 7-2 loss on the Beacons. Caitlin Campbell and Molly Golden each scored a pair of goals for Salve Regina and then-freshman Rebecca Simmons recorded 25 saves. Salve Regina would go on to defeat Manhattanville 1-0 in the ECAC Semifinals before falling to Norwich in the ECAC Finals, 4-0.