Courtesy of: Manhattanville Sports Information
RYE, N.Y. – Senior Captain Shannon Coffey (Malden, Mass.) led the Valiants with two goals and an assist as the Manhattanville women's hockey team conquered the Spartans of Castleton on Friday evening in an ECAC East contest at Playland Casino.
Four other Valiants added to the scoring on the evening with goals coming from senior Holly Nonis (Brampton, Ont.) and sophomores Ella Hubley (Santa Monica, Calif.), Sonia Occhionero (Montreal, Que.) and Erin Sidjak (Delta, B.C.). Nonis tied for the team lead with three points as she also added a pair of assist during the contest. The Valiants got points from five other players in the contest as the home team hled a 56-4 edge in shots.
The Valiants scored the only goal of the first period as they held a 19-1 advantage in shots, but Katharyn Dembowski (Elkridge, Md.) was equal to the task, turning away 18. The Valiants got on the board with 2:33 remaining in the first period as freshman Tori Pizzuto (Waterbury, Conn.) fed a pass from the point to classmate Haleigh Hutchinson (Southgate, Mich.) on the wing and found Occhionero for her second goal of the season at the high slot with a wrist shot past Dembowski.
The Valiants added their first of two power-play goals in the second period to take a 2-0 lead at the 4:31 mark as Coffey jammed away at a loose puck in the goal crease that was placed by a streaking Nonis after she drove to the net only to have her initial shot saved by Dembowski. Coffey added her second goal of the contest at 11:59 with a nice crisp pass from Hubley.
In the final stanza, the Valiants put up three goals and continued their offensive pressure on Castleton. Nonis cashed in on her first goal of the season early in the period as she found the back of the net around the faceoff circle deep inside the visiting teams territory. Senior Erica Garcia (Highland, Calif.) and Hutchinson helped with the goal and were credited with assists.
Hubley added her second goal of the season off a rebound in the crease on a shot by Coffey, and Nonis was credited with the secondary assist as she found Coffey deep in the zone with 5:41 remaining in the contest. The Valiants scored their sixth and final goal on the power-play with 4:02 left in the contest as once again the team crashed the net and got a tally from Sidjak as the defender was standing at the goal mouth. Sophomores Katie Little (Victoria, B.C.) and Mary Rose Morrison (Ridgefield, Conn.) were credited with assists on the Sidjak goal.
In a contest where a combined 60 shots were taken, Manhattanville freshman netminder Mary Evans was asked to make four saves and was granted her first collegiate shutout and third victory of the season.
Dembowski was outstanding, making 56 saves on the evening.
Manhattanville special teams erased three man-advantages for the Spartans and capitalized on three chances of their own.
Castleton (3-3-1, 2-2-1 ECAC East) will continue their road trip at Nichols tomorrow at 1:40 pm.
