The Nichols College women’s hockey team will make their inaugural appearance in the ECAC Women’s East Tournament this Saturday with a trip to top-seeded and ninth-ranked Manhattanville. The eighth-seeded Bison (4-17-3, 4-13-2) travel to Rye, N.Y. for a 3 p.m. quarterfinal matchup with the conference regular season champion Valiants (18-6-1, 16-2-1) at the Playland Ice Casino.
Tickets for Saturday’s game are $5 for adults and $2 for kids 12 and under. Fans that can’t make the trip can follow all the action with free Live Stats.
Nichols is making its first appearance in the conference playoffs in just its second season as a varsity program. Coach Bob Martin’s team has made significant strides since transitioning from a club sport prior to the 2008-09 season. The Bison have increased scoring by 59% this season while allowing 12 fewer goals than last year.
In his second season, Coach Martin has a young team with three sophomores leading the team in points. The team is led by sophomore forward Mandy Manopla (West Palm Beach, Fla.) who led the team with 21 points and is tied for 4th in goals with 13 in conference play. Forward Hannah Tardif (Laconia, N.H.) is second on the team with 11 goals and Haylie Carter (Forney, Texas) is tied for third on the team with 11 points.
Junior defenseman Ashley O’Donnell (North Scituate, R.I.) has been a rock on defense while leading the team in assists with nine and junior goaltender Christine Rigosi (Ridgewood, N.Y.) leads the team in minutes played (659:59) and save percentage (.901%) in regular season action.
Nichols is 0-3 in the all-time series against Manhattanville with close 2-0 and 4-0 results last year and a 10-1 loss earlier this year at Rye, N.Y.
The Valiants have plenty of scoring power with three players in the top ten in points in the ECAC Women’s East. Forward Katie Little led the conference in total points (36), goals (22) and a 1.89 points per game average, while teammate Monique Rafferty was third in points (32) and led the conference in assists (23).
The winner of Saturday’s game will face off against the winner of the #5 New England College at #4 Salve Regina matchup on March 6 at the highest remaining seed. The ECAC Women’s East Final will be held March 7 with the highest seed earning home ice. Time to be announced.
Directions From New England: Take I-90 West to I-84 West to I-91 South, and follow to I-95 South. Take I-95 South to Playland Parkway, Exit 19. Follow Playland Parkway for two miles until it dead ends at Rye Playland. The Ice Casino is located en route to the entrance to the amusement park.
Address: 1 Playland Parkway, Rye, NY, 10580