Two members of the William Smith College hockey team were honored by the United Collegiate Hockey Conference. Senior forward Gina Scibetta was named the North Division’s Player of the Week and first-year forward Julianna Gong was tabbed the North Division’s Rookie of the Week.
Scibetta and Gong led the Herons to a 2-0-0 week against the top two teams in the UCHC South Division this past weekend. On Friday, William Smith cruised to an 8-2 win over Neumann, which entered the weekend ranked second in the south division. The next day, the Herons knocked off Manhattanville, the division leader, 5-4.
Scibetta finished the weekend with six points on three goals and three assists. Against the Knights, she pocketed a pair of goals and added two assists. With a goal and an assist in the first period, Scibetta became the first Heron to reach the 100-point plateau for her career. She added an assist in the second period and a goal in the third period. Against the Valiants, Scibetta had a goal and an assist. She set up Jules Kennedy’s goal that opened the scoring in the first period. Scibetta then scored in the third period. With points in both games over the weekend, Scibetta extended her point streak to eight games.
Through 20 games this season, Scibetta leads the team with 30 points on 11 goals and 19 assists. She is third in the UCHC and seventh in the nation in points per game (1.50 ppg) and is tied for second in the nation in assists.
Gong led William Smith with seven points on four goals and three assists last weekend. Against Neumann, she factored into six of William Smith’s eight goals. Gong’s four goals and six points matched Heron single-game records. She tied Julia Mings’ goal total from Jan. 12, 2019, and Taylor Morash’s point total from Jan. 14, 2018. Like Scibetta, Gong had a goal and an assist in the first period. She then completed the hat trick with back-to-back goals in the second period and added a fourth goal with five minutes remaining in regulation. Gong is the first Heron to record a hat trick this season. Against Manhattanville, she set up Scibetta’s third period goal. Gong has points in seven straight games and eight of the last nine.
Gong is second on the team with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists. She leads the UCHC and is third in the nation in rookie scoring (1.25 ppg).
