Beacons pull away in third period for victory over Seahawks

BOSTON, Mass. – Behind a pair of goals from Jane Morrisette (Pembroke, Mass.), UMass Boston women's ice hockey defeated Salve Regina University by the final of 3-1 Friday afternoon at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 3, Salve Regina University 1

UMass Boston (5-8-4, 4-1-2 New England Hockey Conference)
Salve Regina (2-15-1, 1-6-0 New England Hockey Conference)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Morrisette broke a 1-1 draw less than two minutes into the third period after sneaking the puck under Gretchen Howard.  She would then register the game clinching goal at the 5:27 mark on the power-play to give UMB the two-goal victory.

Katie Barry (Abington, Mass.) got things started for UMB as she scored her first career shorthanded goal in the eighth minute of the first period.  Despite being on the penalty kill, Barry was able to poke the puck free right at the Salve blue line.  She then went one-on-one with Howard and beat the netminder to the near post to make it a 1-0 lead.

Despite a 16-11 advantage in shots in the first period, the Beacons were held to the lone tally.  Things got interesting in the second, when Salve used a power-play goal to knot the game at 1-1.  Gabi Hillner scored her first goal of the year as she fired home a pass from Erica Bonnette-Lykens. 

Between the pipes, Rachel Myette (Duxbury, Mass.) finally got back in the win column, after making just 17 saves, including just one stop in the final period.  Howard, in her first collegiate start, was busy from beginning to end as she came-up with 45 stops. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time the Beacons now lead the series with Salve 18-12-1
• The Beacons have now won six straight over the Seahawks
• Morrisette's two goals were her first since October 30, 2015 at William Smith College
• The win ended the Beacons eight-game winless streak, which dated back to November 26
• Making her collegiate debut in the win was freshman Jenessa Hernand (Chicago, Ill.)

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Salve Regina University tomorrow for a 7 p.m. conference game.