RYE, N.Y.-The William Smith College ice hockey team edged Manhattanville 5-4 in a tightly contested United Collegiate Hockey Conference game at the Playland Ice Casino this evening. With the win, the Herons extended their win streak to six games and are 13-7-0 overall this season and 9-2-0 in UCHC play.
 
Senior Gina Scibetta and junior Jules Kennedy each had a goal and assist to finish with a team-high two points. First-years Laura Hill, Mia LaPlante, and Annika Paletzki also scored for the Herons. Junior Olivia Williams started in goal and made 41 saves as she earned the victory. The win was the 26th of her career, a new William Smith record.
 
Zoey Pellowitz had a game-high three points on three assists for the Valiants (10-7-3, 8-2-1). Tianna Lopes and Ali Howard had two goals each. Lena Flores started in goal and made 27 saves in 59 minutes of action for Manhattanville.
 
Kennedy opened the scoring at the 13:57 mark of the first period with her sixth goal of the season. She banged home a rebound from the low slot. Scibetta was credited with an assist after her initial shot was stopped by Flores.
 
William Smith and Manhattanville each scored twice in the second period. Howard tied the game with her 11th goal of the season at the 9:13 mark of the period.  She fired a shot through traffic past Williams. Pellowitz was credited with an assist on the goal. Two minutes later, Howard struck again with her 12th goal of the season. She one-timed a shot from the point into the back of the net. Pellowitz and Taylor Ham were credited with assists on the power-play goal.
 
Fifty seconds later, Hill tied the game with her sixth goal of the season. She collected a leading pass from Kennedy, deked around Flores and slid a backhand into the back of the net. William Smith took a 3-2 lead into the first intermission on Paletzki's first collegiate goal. She fired a shot from a tight angle between Flores' right leg pad and the goal post. Diffley notched an assist on the power-play goal.
 
Scibetta extended the Herons' lead to two goals with her 11th goal of the season at the 4:21 mark of the third period. She collected a rebound in front of the goal and flipped the loose puck over Flores. First-year Julianna Gong was credited with an assist on the goal.
 
With William Smith killing off a five minute major, Lopes scored the game's next two goals to tie the game 4-4. Just over eight minutes into the period, Lopes collected a rebound and wristed a shot through traffic for her 11th goal of the season. Pellowitz notched her third assist of the game on the power-play tally. Seventy-six seconds later, Lopes snapped a shot from the right faceoff circle past Williams for her 12th goal of the season. Ham was awarded an assist on the power-play goal.
 
The Herons took the lead for good at the 16:41 mark of the third period. LaPlante forced a turnover at the attacking blue line, deked around Flores and slipped a backhand shot across the goal line.
 
Manhattanville finished the game with a 45-32 edge in shots on goal. The Valiants were 3-for-11 on the power play and the Herons were 2-for-4 with the extra skater.
 
William Smith will be back in action next weekend, Feb. 7-8, when it heads to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., for a pair of games. The Herons will take on King's on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m., and Wilkes on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 3:30 p.m.