BOSTON, Mass. – Cailey Kozich's (Wexford, Pa.) first career hat trick helped carry women's hockey to an impressive New England Hockey Conference win as the Beacons blanked New England College by the final of 6-0 Friday afternoon at the Edward T. Barry Ice Rink.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 6, New England College 0

UMass Boston (4-6-1, 3-4-0 NEHC)
New England College (0-9-0, 0-7-0 NEHC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Kozich's natural hat trick came in the second period in the span of seven minutes.  She also assisted on the Beacons first and sixth goal to cap-off a career-best five-point night for the sophomore. 

UMass Boston got on the board late in the opening period, when Hannah MacDougall (South Dartmouth, Mass.) scored her first of two goals on a rebound off of a shot from Kozich.  The lone goal would stand for the Beacons despite outshooting the Pilgrims 19-5.

Katie Leffler (Key Largo, Fla.) got the scoring started early in the second period as she netted an unassisted score just one minute two seconds in.  Nine minutes later Kozich began her offensive surge, when she redirected a Jane Ann Drill (Madison, Wis.) shot to the far post.

Five minutes later she would beat two defensemen to score her first collegiate shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 UMass Boston.  The Wexford, PA native would then complete her hat trick when she tapped in a loose puck on the far side with two minutes 11 seconds remaining. 

Just like the first period, the Beacons offense dominated play as they totaled 18 shots on goal, while the Beacons blue-liners held the Pilgrims to just five shots on goal.

The final goal in Friday's win came on a MacDougall power-play score in the later part of the third.  Her second goal came off of a Kozich shot.  Following the save, the freshman forward fought through the Pilgrims' defense and knocked in the clinching score.

Between the pipes Caty Flagg (Methuen, Mass.) had a pretty easy night as she made just 11 stops to earn her third clean sheet of the season.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston has now won 13-straight over New England College dating back to December 1, 2012
• During that 13-game win-streak the Beacons have outscored the Pilgrims 64-15 and have shutout the Pilgrims a total of five times
• Flagg's shutout marked the eighth of her career as a Beacon and former goalie at University of New England
• The Beacons were 1-for-4 on the power-play, while NEC finished 0-for-2
• Kozich became the first Beacon to record a hat trick since Elie Fallieras (Columbus, Ohio) at Salem State University on November 16
• Fallieras made her return to the ice after sitting out the first part of the season with an injury
• Kozich's five-points marks the most for a Beacon since Emily Harris recorded five points against Post University on 1/21/17

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Johnson & Wales University tomorrow at 1 p.m.