COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey team has drawn the eighth seed in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA) Championship and will visit No. 1 Franklin Pierce University for a best-of-three quarterfinal series, beginning Friday at 7 p.m. at Ritchie Ice Arena in Winchendon, Mass. The teams meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. before Sunday's if-necessary game starts at 4 p.m.
 
In the other quarterfinal series, No. 2 Assumption University meets No. 7 Post University, No. 3 Saint Anselm College faces No. 6 Sacred Heart University, while No. 4 Stonehill College hosts No. 5 Long Island University. Semifinals take place on March 4 before the title tilt is set for March 7. After reseeding, the tournament's final three contests will occur at the site of the higher seeds. The NEWHA postseason champion will earn an automatic qualification into the NCAA National Collegiate Championship, featuring Division I and II programs.
 
Under the guidance of second-year head coach Meghan Sweezey '10, the Purple Knights are led offensively by a trio of underclass players. First-year Kyler Weatherred (Eagle, Colo./Team Colorado AAA Hockey Club) has four goals and six assists, sophomore Brianna Jarvis (Swanton, Vt./BFA-Saint Albans) netted five goals with four helpers, and classmate Audrey Hetman (Gurnee, Ill./Milwaukee Jr. Admirals) lent five assists among her seven points. A converted defender, Hetman owns a team-high 242 faceoff victories.
 
Senior alternate captain Annika Lavender (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) is third in the nation with 1,023 saves, having set school records for career stops (3,303) and goalie minutes (4,639:09) this season. She is within nine saves of the top 20 in NCAA National Collegiate history. Lavender has a .914 save percentage and leads the NEWHA with 42.6 saves per game. Sophomore McKenna Dans (Marshfield, Mass./Lovell Academy) averages 34.6 saves in 15 games. Senior captain Emersynn McGillis (Ottawa, Ontario/Nepean Jr. Wildcats) and junior Maddie Quinn (Chicago, Ill./Team Illinois AAA) anchor the defense with 65 and 115 blocks, respectively.
 
Senior captain Elisabeth Gerebi (Victoria, Minn./Chanhassen), who has made a school-record 133 appearances, dished five assists and won 162 faceoffs, while junior Anna Jerylo (Stillwater, Minn./Gentry Academy) won 193 draws and potted six points. Sophomore Alicia McDonald (Clearwater, Fla./East Ottawa Junior Stars U22 AA) scored four times, and first-year Kali Boychuk (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan/Windsor Southwest Wildcats) adds five points.