BOSTON – In its first varsity season, the Suffolk women's hockey team earned the second seed in the upcoming 2019 New England Hockey Conference tournament, the league office announced Sunday afternoon.
The Rams went 10-4-2 over their 16-game conference calendar for 22 points, nine points behind reigning NCAA DIII Champion and 2019 NEHC Regular-Season Champion Norwich (15-0-1).
As the second seed, Suffolk is pitted against seventh-seed UMass Boston Saturday, Feb. 16 with the puck drop set for 7:30 p.m. at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Rink in East Boston, Mass.
The Beacons clinched the seventh seed with a 5-9-2 league ledger, good for 12 points. Overall, UMass put together a 9-14-2 record.
In the regular season Suffolk went 1-0-1 versus the Beacons. When the foes met on Boston's home sheet November 17, the Rams overcame a two-goal deficit, to tie things up, but neither team was able to find the back of the net in the extra session, Suffolk's first-ever overtime tilt, to end in a 2-2 draw. The blue-and-gold rebounded in the second meeting with the Beacons when it downed UMass, 3-1, Jan. 25 in Eastie.
Overall this season, head coach Taylor Wasylk has guided her 22-player roster comprised majorly of rookies, 17 to be exact, to a 15-8-2 overall mark. Suffolk's 2.84 goals per game offense is second-best among its league counterparts, while its defense, which is backstopped by sophomore Kristen Caporusso, allows just 1.92 goals per game, good for second-least in the conference.
The winner of Saturday's showdown will advance to the semifinals, which will take place at the highest remaining seeds ice next Saturday, Feb. 23. The highest remaining seed will face the lowest remaining seed and the two remaining seeds will square off.
2019 NEHC TOURNAMENT
Saturday, Feb. 16 – Quarterfinals
GAME 1: #1 Norwich vs. #8 Salem State – 4:00 PM
GAME 2: #2 Suffolk vs. #7 UMass Boston – 7:30 PM
Game 3: #3 Castleton vs. #6 Plymouth State – 3:00 PM
Game 4: #4 Southern Maine vs. #5 Johnson & Wales – 4:00 PM
Saturday, Feb. 23 - Semifinals
Game 5: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Game 6: Second-Highest Remaining Seed vs. Second-Lowest Remaining Seed
Saturday, March 2 - Championship
Game 7: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed