Camels Shutout Vikings

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Freshman Camille Phelan (Medfield, Mass.) registered her first career hat trick and junior Erin Dillon (Hazlet, N.J.) factored into four goals as the Connecticut College women's ice hockey team defeated Salem State in a 9-0 rout on Saturday afternoon at Dayton Arena.

The Camels, who are winners of seven straight, have outscored their opponents by a 29-2 margin over the last four games and 21-0 during the current three-game homestand after blanking William Smith by scores of 5-0 and 7-0 in December.

Freshman Melanie Conca (Nutley, Conn.) set the tone for the entire afternoon by scoring just 1:18 into the contest. Phelan then notched her first career marker by taking a pass along the boards from senior captain Ashley Carbone (Old Saybrook, Conn.) in the defensive end and blitzing by several Viking skaters down the right side. She finished at 16:02 to double the margin.

Connecticut College (7-3) then found the back of the net three times in a span of 3:48 during the middle of the second period to take a 5-0 lead heading into the second intermission. Phelan opened the scoring in the frame by firing in a shot from the right side after junior Mairi Anthony (Stoneham, Mass.) won a puck against the boards in the middle of the ice. Junior Caitlyn Wilkin (Barre, Vt.) then fired home a shot from the blue line, and sophomore Catherine Lawrence (Guilford, Conn.) added her first marker of the season shortly afterwards.

The Camels remained in cruise control during the third and final frame by having four different players find the back of the net and only allowing Salem State (2-10-1) to attempt two shots, including one on target, over the last 20 minutes. Dillon made it 6-0 at 4:31 and set up markers by sophomore Natalie Witkowski (Cheshire, Conn.) and senior Lauren Helm (Frisco, Texas) later in the period to seal the final outcome, while senior Sammi Estes (Millis, Mass.) also found Phelan to help the freshman complete her hat trick during another hot stretch of scoring.

Sophomore Carly Denora (Verona, N.J.) picked up the win between the pipes by making nine saves for Connecticut College, which previously scored as many as nine goals in a 9-1 rout of the Vikings back on Jan. 5, 2016. Dana Smullen was charged with the loss for Salem State after surrendering two goals in more than 27 minutes of action.

(Courtesy Connecticut College Sports Information)