Box Score Boxscore
RYE, N.Y. – Sophomore Katie Little (Victoria, British Columbia/Team British Columbia) led the Valiants with a goal and two assists as the #10 Manhattanville women's hockey team scored three unanswered goal to defeat the Huskies of Southern Maine, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at Playland Ice Casino in an ECAC East Conference matchup.
Little led all scorers with three points, but five other Valiants registered a point in the game. Senior captain Shannon Coffey (Malden, Mass./North American Hockey Academy), junior Hannah Muskego (Neilburg, Saskatchewan/PWM Steelers (AMMFHL)) and sophomore Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Quebec/Kent School (Conn.)) all scored for the home team in the win. Senior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ontario/Saint Thomas Aquinas) and freshman Haleigh Hutchinson (Allen Park, Mich./Honeybaked (TOEHL)) each were credited with an assist.
The Valiants led the shots on goal category, 31-18, and finished 2-of-9 on the power play. Southern Maine finished with six shots in all three periods, but were unsuccessful on all five man-advantages.
Occhionero got the Valiants on the board early in the contest, as Little found her center in the middle of the slot just 2:22 into the contest. Two minutes and change later, Southern Maine tied the contest as Christen Hart scored her second goal of the season at the 4:47 mark. Courtney White and Erin Banfield were credited with the assists.
Banfield gave her team a 2-1 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the second period as her sixth goal of the season was unassisted. The Valiants tied and then took the lead in the latter part of the period, as Coffey scored her fifth goal at the 16:47 with an assist from Nonis. The host took the lead with the game-winning goal coming off a knuckle puck slapshot from the point, as Little sent a pass to the point allowing Muskego to release a shot with the puck flipping in the air and behind Huskies' netminder Jordan Lee.
Little scored the only goal in the final period as the AHCA all-American gave her team an insurance goal with Hutchinson sending her a pass in from of the net with 4:07 left in the game.
Manhattanville sophomore netminder Emy Cote (Saint-Hubert, Quebec/Dawson College) made 16 saves for her sixth victory of the season, while Lee made 27 saves, but got her 11th defeat of the season.
Manhattanville (11-4-1, 8-1-0 ECAC East) will begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday evening as they will head to Connecticut College for a 7 p.m. faceoff. Southern Maine (4-11-1) will also head to Connecticut College on Friday evening for a 7 p.m. start.
