Recap
Sophomore Mel McAleer potted two goals as the Nichols College women's ice hockey team defeated The University of New England 3-2 in Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) action Saturday afternoon at Levy Rink in Harrisville, Rhode Island.

The Nor'easters (15-9-1, 5-6-1 CHC) got on the board first with a first period goal from freshman Meghan Hamilton, her second of the year, with helpers from sophomore Jessica Tolzman and junior Alyssa Roof. After one period of play UNE held the one goal advantage. Early in the second period UNE extended their lead to 2-0 with an unassisted goal from sophomore Katie Babineau.

Five minutes later at the 8:45 mark in the second period the Bison (14-8-3, 8-3-1 CHC) finally cracked the scoreboard with an unassisted gem from McAleer. Later on in the second period with just 15 seconds remaining freshman Katelyn Joyal potted the game tying goal from behind the net to knot the game at two apiece going into the final frame. Four minutes into the third period McAleer found the back of the net yet again after finding a feed from senior Kelly Ferreira and putting the puck through the five-hole of UNE sophomore goalie Julia Benjamin. McAleer's third period goal ended up being the game winner as the Bison complete the weekend sweep of the Nor'easters.
 
Three things you need to know…
-The Bison honored 10 seniors in a pregame ceremony; Callie Jackson, Marg Reid, Kate O'Shea, Mikayla Castro, Kirsten Sullivan, Leah Baxendale, Jensen Wurm, Cassandra Goyette, MacKenzie Lyons and Kelly Ferreira.
-With this win the Bison clinch a bye in the first round of the CHC playoffs, moving straight through to the semi-finals on March 2nd.
-Today's game marked the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs, the Bison improve to 5-3-0 in the series.

Quote
"That was a great win, we needed every single player and we worked hard to earn the bounces and to get things going our way." -Nichols head coach Mike O'Grady
 
Next Game
Saturday, March 2 - CHC Semifinals, 4:00 p.m.