BEVERLY, Mass. — The first-seeded Endicott women's ice hockey team defeated second-seeded University of New England (UNE), 4-1, in the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Championship on Saturday night at Raymond J. Bourque Arena.
With the win, the No. 8 nationally ranked Gulls (25-2-0) captured their second straight CHC Championship and have earned the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Endicott will find out its first round opponent on Monday, March 9 via the NCAA Selection Show at 10 AM. The Gulls are the first program in CHC history to win every regular season conference matchup and playoff game (18-0-0) on their schedule since the league was formed in 2015.
Meanwhile, UNE sees its 2019-20 season come to a close at 16-9-2 overall.
Endicott received goals from Jacy Kuhlman (Severna Park, Md.), Jade Meier (Fairbanks, Alaska), Lauren Ferraiuolo (North Haven, Conn.), and Kaylee Liberty (Arlington Heights, Ill.) in the win. Kuhlman opened the scoring at the 12:53 mark of the first period, while Meier, Ferraiuolo, and Liberty all scored power play goals in the second (3:27, 14:38, 15:14).
In goal, Alyssa Peterson (Cranberry Township, Pa.) made 18 saves to improve to 17-2-0 overall on the season.
For her efforts, which included 40 total saves in the playoffs, Peterson was named the CHC Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Peterson was joined on the CHC All-Tournament Team by UNE student-athletes Julia Benjamin (Tolland, Conn.) and Meghan Hamilton (Rutland, Vt.) and Endicott teammates Nicole Demers (Avon, Conn.), Kuhlman, and Meier.
Specifically for UNE, Benjamin was sensational in the tournament as the junior netminder compiled 75 saves in two games played.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Endicott improved to 7-1-0 all-time against UNE, which includes a 4-1-0 record at home and 2-0-0 mark in the postseason.
- The Gulls have won seven straight versus the Nor'easters dating back to November 10, 2018. Five of those games have occurred this season.
- Endicott extended its winning streak to 13 straight games and pushed its single-season program record for victories to 25.
- The Gulls are 15-1-0 at home this season.
- This was the first-ever meeting between Endicott and UNE in the CHC Championship.
- Endicott has advanced to the CHC Championship in all five years in the history of the program (2015-20) and won the league title twice.
- Madison Huber (Pittsburgh, Pa.) played in her 100th career game tonight.
- Meier is one point away from reaching the 100 career point plateau (37g-62a-99p).
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (25-2-0) has earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament and will find out its first round opponent on Monday, March 9 via the NCAA Selection Show at 10:30 AM. UNE sees its 2019-20 season come to a close at 16-9-2 overall.
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(Photo Credit - David Le '10)