The Valiants got on the board first after both teams started out tentatively in the early portions of the first period. SophomoreSydney Asselstine (Hartington, Ontario/Nepean Wildcats (PWHL)) ripped a hard shot from the top of the right circle that tipped off the glove of Beacon netminder Casey Schaejbe and into the back of the net to put Manhattanville up 1-0, with freshmanBrighid Noone (Quincy, Mass./Milton Academy (Mass.)) earning the helper.
The final 4:39 of the first period ticked off the clock and the two teams skated to the dressing room with the Valiants leading 1-0. In the first period, the Beacons outshot the Valiants by a 7-4 margin, with junior Mary Evans (Detroit, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) making four saves on shots sent her way.
In the second period, Manhattanville capitalized quickly after winning the opening draw of the period, senior Katie Little(Victoria, British Columbia/Team British Columbia) skated down the lane and took a quick shot after splitting a pair of defenders, the rebound was picked up on the side of the net by Kehoe, who lifted it into the vacant cage just 54 seconds in to put the Valiants up by two.
After killing off a penalty with 12:54 gone by in the second period, UMass Boston gained some momentum and came storming down the left wing. A shot by Sarahanne Cavolo was taken from a sharp angle, but Cavolo followed the puck to the net and squeezed the puck between the pads of Evans and the left post to cut the lead in half at 2-1.
The Valiants took a one-goal lead into the third period, and about halfway through the final frame Manhattanville was awarded a power play, which was killed off by the Beacon penalty kill unit.
Manhattanville followed by bringing the puck down the right side of the ice, and after taking a pass from Little, Kehoe intended to return the favor and sent it back into the slot. On its way towards Little, the puck then deflected off the stick of a UMass Boston player as Kehoe tried crossing it, and went into the goal to give Manhattanville another two-goal edge.
Twenty-seven seconds later after a turnover in the neutral zone, freshman Chelsea Boucher (Gilford, N.H./Hebron Academy (Maine)) streaked down the left boards and took a shot right in front of the net that got past Schaejbe and the Valiants had its largest lead of the game at 5-1.
Not even a minute later and there was yet another goal scored, this time for the Beacons as the Valiants coughed the puck up in their own end of the ice that was taken away by Emily Howard at the top of the zone. After taking a few strides towards the net, Howard pulled the trigger and lifted the shot top-shelf to pull UMass Boston back within two.
The Valiants tacked on one more for good measure as sophomore Alla Traun (Edina, Minn./Minnesota Thoroughbreds (JWHL)) put one into the net with 2:06 left on the clock as sophomore Rachael Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn./Sound Shore Warriors (MAWHL)) and senior Erin Sidjak (Delta, British Columbia/Pacific Steelers (JWHL)) picked up assists on the final goal of the game.
Manhattanville finished the game outshooting UMass Boston 22-17, with the Valiants winning 33-of-54 faceoffs on the afternoon, with Kehoe winning 13 and classmate Lynsey Schill (Waterloo, Ontario/Kitchener Rangers (PWHL)) winning eight on her own.
Earning the win was Evans to improve to 13-6-1 on the season, her 13 wins ties her for second on the single-season wins list and one behind the all-time Nicole Elliot’s 2002-03 season. Taking the loss was Schaejbe after making 17 saves on the afternoon.
Manhattanville (18-8-1) advances to the ECAC East Championship game against top-seeded Norwich, who defeated the Southern Maine Huskies earlier in the day by a 5-0 score. UMass Boston ends the year with a 9-14-4 record overall and will look ahead to the 2013-14.
