Salem, Mass. – Junior Callie Jackson notched an assist and collected her sixth goal while junior Kelly Ferreira scored her 10th goal and picked up an assist in the Nichols College women's ice hockey team's 4-2 win over the Salem State Vikings in a Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) game Saturday afternoon at Rockett Arena.
 
Junior goaltender Cassandra Goyette recorded 32 saves to improve to 6-9-1 on the season while helping the Bison extend their already program-record mark to 11-9-1 (5-5-0 CHC).

Sophomore Kylie Currier opened the scoring at 8:37 in the first to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Less than five minutes later at 13:15, freshman McKenna Gernander notched a goal with an assist from Jackson to tie the game up at one.

Shortly after the start of the second, Ferreira scored a goal with assists from freshman Mel McAleer and junior Kirsten Sullivan to propel the Bison into the lead. Just over a minute later, sophomore Vanessa VanBuskirk was able to get the puck past Goyette to tie the game at two. Towards the end of the second, Jackson beat sophomore netminder Sarah Plourde on the power-play with assists from Ferreira and freshman Jordyn McGuire to give the Bison the advantage going into the third period.
 
Sophomore Ashley Ljunggren extended the lead for Nichols at 19:35 of the third with an assist from sophomore Emily Eagan. The Vikings (4-16-2, 0-9-1 CHC) pulled Plourde from the net with 25 seconds to go in the third as a last-second form of desperation as they tried to cut into the 4-2 deficit, however they Vikings came up short and the Bison prevailed to complete the home-and-home sweep.
 
With Saturdays CHC victory over Salem State, the Bison officially locked up a playoff berth and are currently in third place in the CHC. Playoff seedings will be determined following the conclusion of next weekend's contests.
 
All-Time Series
This afternoon's contest marked the second meeting between Nichols College and Salem State University. The Bison now lead the series, 2-0-0.