NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Led by the first-ever tournament Most Valuable Player Rachel Myette (Pembroke, Mass.), UMass Boston shocked the women's hockey world as they defeated top-seeded Norwich University by the final of 2-0 to earn their first-ever conference tournament title Saturday afternoon at Kreitzberg Arena.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, Norwich University 0

UMass Boston (16-12-0)
Norwich University (21-7-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Beacons grabbed the 1-0 lead at the 13:34 mark of the first period, when All-Tournament selection Arielle Gallucci (Warren, N.J.), found fellow All-Tournament honoree Jenny Currie (Chelmsford, Mass.), on a backhand sauce pass from her own blue line right to the tape of Currie, who then scored the breakaway goal. 

Norwich frantically tried to find the equalizer in the second but was stopped time-after-time by Myette, who played perhaps the two best games in program history.  Myette also got a little help from the iron, as two pucks rang off the posts denying the Cadets.

UMass Boston got their insurance goal at the 7:56 mark of the third when Kayla Smith (Woburn, Mass.) slid the puck past Celeste Robert off of the face-off. Alli Bianchini (Detroit, Mich.), who was the hero in Friday's semi-final win over Castleton, and who was also named an All-Tournament selection, assisted the play, along with Jane Morrisette (Pembroke, Mass.).

The Cadets continued to pepper the Beacons defense, but they would continue to hold strong as time quickly winded down.  Myette would ultimately finish with 35 saves, and posted her fourth shutout of the year, which is tied for the single season record.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The title is the first-ever in program history for the Beacons
• UMass Boston secured the championship under interim head coach Lindsay Berman, who took over the program in August
• UMass Boston will be making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as they won the title as the third-seed

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will find out who they will face in the NCAA Tournament on Monday at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.