CHC TOURNAMENT: Endicott Set To Host CHC Tournament Semifinals (March 2)

CHC TOURNAMENT RELEASE / BRACKET

BEVERLY, Mass. – The first-seeded Endicott women's ice hockey team (17-4-4) is set to host the Colonial Hockey Conference (CHC) Semifinal and Championship rounds on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3. The semifinal rounds and championship game will all be held at Raymond J. Bourque Arena on the campus of Endicott College.

The Gulls will face fifth-seeded University of New England at 1 PM on Saturday. Following that matchup, second-seeded Nichols College will face third-seeded Morrisville State College at 4 PM. The winners of each semifinal contest will advance to Sunday's championship game. 

Ticket prices for Saturday's and Sunday's games are as follows: students and senior citizens are $3 and adults are $5 (children under 12 are not charged admission). Endicott students receive free admission with Gull Card.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Endicott earned a first-round bye as the first seed to advance directly to the semifinals. 

The University of New England defeated No. 4 SUNY Canton, 2-0, during the CHC quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals. 

Nichols College earned a first-round bye as the second seed to advance directly to the semifinals. 

Morrisville State posted a 6-1 win over No. 6 Salve Regina during the CHC quarterfinals to continue on to the semifinals. 

SCOUTING ENDICOTT: The Gulls enter the weekend third in the conference in goals per game (2.42) after 12 regular season CHC contests. Endicott also finished the CHC regular season with the lowest goals allowed (8) and lowest GAA (0.66).

The team will look to several student-athletes to generate offense including Jillian Gibbs (Burlington, Vt.), Courtney Sullivan (North Yarmouth, Maine), Lexi Klein (Shoreview, Minn.), and Caroline Hughes (Andover, Mass.). Gibbs leads the team in goals (10), assists (11), and points (21). Sullivan was named CHC Rookie of the Year and has contributed 10 goals and six assists for 16 points. 

CHC Goaltender of the Year Vendela Jonsson (Linkoping, Sweden) has an overall season record of 9-3-4 in net for the Gulls and she is second in the conference in GAA (1.10) and third in save percentage (.950).

SCOUTING UNE: The University of New England (16-9-1) leads the conference in goals per game (2.58) in 12 CHC games played. The Nor'easters will look to Julianne Sheehan (Chelsmford, Mass.) (14 G, 10 A, 24 Pts) and Kyra Yu (Ogden, Utah) (10 G, 10 A, 20 Pts) on the offensive end of the ice. Julia Benjamin (Tolland, Conn.) has an overall record of 14-9-1 in net with a GAA of 1.83 and a save percentage of .930. 

SCOUTING NICHOLS:  The Bison enter the weekend with an overall record of 14-8-3. CHC Player of the Year Mel McAleer (Hanson, Mass.) is tied for the lead in the conference in both goals (14) and points (31), while Kelly Ferreira (North Falmouth, Mass.) has contributed 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points so far this season. In net, Cassandra Goyette (Norton, Mass.) has an 11-6-3 overall record with a 1.29 GAA and .956 save percentage. 

SCOUTING MORRISVILLE: The Mustangs (15-8-2) will look to several key players on the offensive end of the ice such as Jessica Ujcik (Munich, Germany) (14 G, 11 A, 25 Pts) and Maddison Devlin (Campbell River, British Columbia) (11 G, 20 A, 31 Pts.). Goaltender Karoline Arvik (Trondheim, Norway) has a 12-8-2 record with a 1.75 GAA and .918 save percentage. 

WHAT'S AT STAKE

The winners of Saturday's semifinal games will advance to the CHC Championship on Sunday, March 3 at 2 PM.

Tournament Schedule
(Quarterfinal Games hosted by the higher seed)

Quarterfinals – Saturday, Feb. 23

#3 Morrisville State def. #6 Salve Regina, 6-1
#5 Univ. of New England def. #4 SUNY Canton, 2-0 

Semifinals – Saturday, March 2

#5 Univ. of New England at #1 Endicott - 1 p.m. 
#3 Morrisville State at #2 Nichols - 4 p.m.

Finals – Sunday, March, 3

Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - 2 p.m.

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(Photo credit - David Le '10)