Sophomore Andrea Ciarletta and Melissa Belmonte had a hat trick apiece in the final week of the 2004-05 regular season, while helping the UMass Boston women’s ice hockey team (10-13-1, 9-9-1) pick up two victories. After wrapping up the season with a 4-1 defeat against Saint Anselm College, the Beacons were seeded fifth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Quarterfinals to compete with fourth-seeded New England College (10-12-2, 10-7-2) in Henniker, NH on Saturday, February 26.

The Beacons have shown rapid progress since the team was established two years ago and upgraded to a varsity program last year. UMB piled two more victories up in ECAC play than last year (7-9-1).

In last year’s playoff, first-time participant UMB won over Rochester Institution of Technology, 6-4, in Quarterfinals thanks to Belmonte’s four goals. In semifinals Manhattanville College easily defeated UMB by 0-12.

Outscoring lower-ranked Salve Regina University and Castleton State University Ciarletta by 17-4 combined a week before playoff, it is evident that UMB first-year coach Melisa Heitzman and her goal producing machines still can clearly recollect a savor of harassing opponents. Ciarletta, team’s best scorer with 20 goals and 15 assists for the season, added six goals and four assists in the two easy wins to lift her individual standings in point scoring to second in the conference. Belmonte (28 goals, 25 assists) tallied three goals and five assists down the stretch.

Others followed; junior Molly Norton scored twice and assisted two. Sophomore Katie Reardon had three goals. Freshman Rose Devling and junior Kristin Wilson both recorded a goal and two assists, as freshman Katherine Wall added three assists.

But rather than the leisure, UMB should have learned more useful lessons for a competitive battles in playoffs through a loss to Saint Anselm College (19-3-1, 8-2-1) at Clark Athletic Center on Sunday, February 20. By a team with a .848 winning percentage, UMB allowed the visitor to dominant puck possession and heavily outshot the Beacons during the 1:43 match, 43-14.

Saint Anselm took an early 2-0 lead in the first period. UMB, at the beginning of the second stanza, countered with a freshman Kate Webb’s ninth goal of the season that she pushed a loose puck being crowded out from a mass of players (see picture) into a left side of the net. The Beacons also produced a one-to-one situation in the early second. But junior forward Annie Larson’s wrist shot failed to hit on goal.

Saint Anselm scored one goal each in the second and third frame to make the final score 4-1.

Beacons freshman goalie Maggie Carmany stopped 39 shots. Carmany was more outstanding than the final score shows, considering that the second goal unexpectedly hit a Beacon defenseman and changed a course, and the fourth was an unlucky own goal that a Saint Anselm’s pass from behind the net hit blade of a Beacon and the puck slid beyond the goal line.

UMB and New England College played two games this season. New England took the first competition by 5-1 on January 14, while UMB stroke back, 3-2 on the day after.