BOSTON, Mass. – For the second straight season, the road to the ECAC East Tournament title goes through Rye, New York as the sixth-seeded women's hockey team must face the third-seed Valiants of Manhattanville College on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Playland Ice Casino in the first round of the ECAC East Tournament.
GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats - http://www.sidearmstats.com/manhattanville/whockey/
Video – http://www.govaliants.tv/
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Nov. 15 – at Manhattanville, L 0-2
Jan. 30 – vs. Manhattanville, L 4-5 (OT)
THE MATCH-UP
Saturday's conference tournament game will mark the seventh postseason meeting between the Beacons and Valiants. All-time the two squads will be meeting for the 30th time, with the Valiants leading both series 6-1 and 25-3 respectively. The two teams share one draw between them as well. Last season, marked a historic win for the Beacons, as they not only earned their first playoff win over Manhattanville, but they did it dominating fashion with a 3-0 victory to earn the program's first postseason shutout.
Senior Moe Bradley (Swampscott, Mass.) had to make just 17 saves, while the Beacons saw three different players, two of which were defensemen, find the back of the net.
This season, the Beacons struggled against their longtime rival, first dropping a 2-0 decision in the Playland Ice Casino. They would then suffer probably their toughest loss of the year, as the Valiants scored three straight goals, including the game-winner in OT to hand UMass a 5-4 loss. The Beacons led the contest by the score of 3-2 heading into the third, and would make it a 4-2 affair on a Jane Morrisette power-play goal at 5:21 of the final frame. Taryn Harris earned the game-winning mark at 1:27 of the extra frame to give her team the victory.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
It has been a tough couple of weeks for the Beacons, as they have managed just four wins since the New Year (4-9). UMass heads into this postseason, riding a four-game losing streak, in-which they were outscored 21-4. Their last and only victory in the month of February came on the sixth when they edged Nichols College by the final of 3-2.
Despite a tough January, the Beacons still had a chance to host a first round game, as they headed into the month of February. Sitting in the top-4 for most of the year, all UMass had to do was at-least win half of their conference games to get at-least one home tournament game. However with the four straight losses, the Beacons dropped to sixth in the standings, and will once again be road warriors for this year's tournament.
SCOUTING THE BEACONS
The 2014-15 season looked to be a promising year for head coach Colleen Harris and her Beacons. After earning the program's first-ever national ranking (14th on D3Hockey.com), the Beacons looked primed to make a serious run at this year's championship, with a deep veteran loaded roster.
Going into this year's tournament, sophomore transfer Kayla Smith (Woburn, Mass.) leads the Beacons with a combined 15 points, having registered a team-best 11 assists, to go along with four goals. Freshman Jane Morrisette (Pembroke, Mass.), emerged as one of the Beacons top playmakers with her nine assists and five goals. Junior Samantha Fallon (Pembroke, Mass.) leads this year's squad with eight goals and sits tied for third in points, alongside Alyssa Sullivan (Medford, Mass.).
Defensively, the Beacons will look to sophomore Kat Armstrong (Boulder, Colo.), who leads the team in blocked shots with 27. The sophomore has appeared in all 25 games, and will look to once again help lead the Beacons past the Valiants. Senior Kelsey MacIsaac (Durham, N.H.) is looking to end her college career with the program's first tournament title. Since arriving at UMass, MacIsaac has appeared in 68 career games.
The biggest question mark for the Beacons going into this year's tournament is who will be between the pipes. Last season, Bradley was dominant for the Beacons, as she carried the team to their 3-0 win over the Valiants, and a near upset victory over the top-seeded Cadets of Norwich University.
This season Bradley, along with fellow senior netminder Kailyn Burke (Franklin, Mass.) have split minutes this season. Burke has seen over 818 minutes of playing time, and has made 278 stops in that time. For Bradley, her final season with the Beacons, has been a challenging one. To date she sits with 315 saves in 686 minutes of playing time, but unfortunately carries a 3.15 goals against average.
SCOUTING THE VALIANTS
Going into this year's tournament, the Valiants will look to a veteran core of forwards. Alla Traun is the lone player to have 20 or more points, as she sits with nine goals and 14 assists. Michele Meggiolaro, leads the squad with 10 goals, to along with nine assists, while Rachael Morrison has emerged as the team leader in helpers with 15.
The defensive unit for Manhattanville will look to continue their strong play, with Morrison taking the lead. Proving to be a versatile player, with her 18 points, Morrison has anchored the Valiants D-Line to make them one of the most competitive in the ECAC East conference.
Manhattanville College will rely on the strong play of senior Kirsten Shaughnessy, who has been the go-to goaltender all season long. In 17 games started, Shaughnessy sits with a 2.12 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. She also has five shutouts, one of which came against the Beacons.
THE COACHES
UMass Boston head coach Colleen Harris will be leading her Beacons to their 12th postseason appearance. Last season, Harris ended the year with a 12-11-4 record, and the team's second semi-final appearance in the last three seasons. Saturday's contest will mark the fourth time that Harris will face Valiants head coach David Turco. Currently the Valiants leader has a 2-1 advantage in tournament meetings.
DOWN THE ROAD
The winner of Saturday's contest, will travel to the highest remaining seed next week and will face the winner of #2 Salve Regina University/#7 Nichols College on Saturday, March 7. This year's championship will be played on March 8 at the same site.
