PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Manhattanville College women’s ice hockey team earned a berth in the New England Hockey Conference postseason tournament for their 17th consecutive playoff appearance after a big turnaround season on the ice this year.
Manhattanville locked up the number two seed for the NEHC tournament after compiling a 15-8-2 overall record, 12-4-1 in league play this season. The Valiants will host seventh seed, University of Southern Maine who went 8-16-1 on the season and 4-12-1 in conference action.
When: Manhattanville will host Southern Maine on Saturday, February 25 at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Playland Ice Casino (Rye, N.Y.)
Admission for Saturday’s contest will be $5 for adults and $3 for students with a valid I.D. Manhattanville students and children under the age of 12 will be admitted free of charge. Fans that cannot make it to Rye can follow live stats and live video free of charge at www.govaliants.com/live.
Manhattanville Postseason History: The Valiants have made the postseason in 17 of 18 seasons since becoming an official NCAA sport in the 1999-2000 school year. Manhattanville has won their respective conference tournament eight times and have made eight NCAA tournament appearances including three appearances in the National Championship. Manhattanville is looking for their first conference championship since the 2010-11 season.
All-Time Series vs. Southern Maine: Manhattanville is 24-1-2 all-time against Southern Maine, winning six straight against the Huskies dating back to 2012. The Valiants are unbeaten at home against Southern Maine, 11-0-1 all-time and have outscored Southern Maine 49-15 over those 12 games.
Last Matchup: Manhattanville was victorious in the only matchup against the Huskies this season, winning 2-1 on the road on November 11. The Valiants outshot Southern Maine 26-21 on the afternoon and seniors Lindsay Diot (Bethel, Conn./Boston Shamrocks) and Taryn Harris (Morrison, Colo./Colorado Selects) each scored in the win, while sophomore Rose Pijaca (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Academy) stopped 21 shots to earn her first win of the season. Senior Olivia Barragree was the lone goal scorer for Southern Maine and sophomore Britney Evangelista stopped 24 shots in the loss for the Huskies.
Manhattanville Preview: The Valiants 15 regular season wins this year are the most since winning 16 regular season contests during the 2012-13 campaign. Manhattanville finished the regular season ranked eighth among Division III teams in scoring offense with 3.48 goals per contest and also boast the 13th best penalty kill unit in the nation at 88 percent. Sophomore Nicole Mensi (Mamaroneck, N.Y./SUNY Plattsburgh) leads the Valiants with 23 points this season (16 goals, 7 assists) and finished the regular season tied for seventh in goals in league play with 11. Junior Sarah Sinning (Southold, N.Y./National Sports Academy) ranks second on the team in points with 22 after scoring ten goals and tallying 12 assists on the year. Freshman Amanda Sabia (Freehold, N.J./The Gunnery) finished the year on a hot streak, putting together ten points in her final eight games. The Valiants have shown the ability to get off to a hot start, outscoring opponents 38-19 in the first period, going 12-1-0 when leading after the first frame this year. The Valiants have also shown the ability to score in bunches, scoring two or more goals less than 90 seconds apart 11 times this year.
Southern Maine Preview: The Huskies are 4-6-0 on the road this season, with their most recent road win coming on February 3 against Plymouth State. Southern Maine enters the postseason on a six-game losing streak and is looking to get back on track Saturday to keep their season alive. The Huskies are led offensively by senior Katie Couture and sophomore Alex Mitchell with 15 points apiece. Olivia Barragree is third on the team in points with ten and tied for the team lead in assists with seven. Southern Maine averages 1.40 goals per game while allowing just under three tallies per contest. The first goal of the game will be a huge difference maker in the contest, as Southern Maine is 3-6-1 when scoring first and 0-15-0 when giving up the game’s first goal. Manhattanville is 14-2-0 when scoring first, and just 1-6-2 when allowing the first goal.
Projected Goalie Matchup: Saturday will likely feature a rematch of the sophomore netminders for both squads, as the Valiants will look towards Pijaca to lead them to a quarterfinal win. The Worcester, Mass. native is 7-3-2 on the season with a 1.89 goals against average and a .926 save percentage. The Huskies will likely go with Britney Evangelista once again against the Valiants. Evangelista has appeared in 15 games this season, compiling a 3-10-1 record with a 2.15 goals against average and a .930 save percentage.
