William Smith College Head Ice Hockey Coach Jaime Totten was named the United Collegiate Hockey Conference Coach of the Year in a vote by her fellow coaches as announced by the conference office. In addition, six Herons earned postseason honors.
Senior defender Rebecca Begley was named first team All-UCHC. Begley is the second Heron to be named to an all-conference first team. Senior goalie Maggie Salmon and forward Krista Federow earned a spot on the second team while junior defender Maura Mulligan was voted All-UCHC honorable mention. First-year forward Julia Mings and defender Emily Martino earned a spot on the All-Rookie team. William Smith’s six postseason honorees are the most in program history.
In her fourth year as head coach of the Herons, Totten guided the Herons to an 11-2-3 record in UCHC play and a first-round bye in the conference tournament. After being selected to finish fifth in the preseason poll, William Smith finished second in the regular season standings. The Herons were the only conference team to take points from regular season champion Elmira, forcing overtime twice with the third-ranked Soaring Eagles. The Herons posted a 16-5-4 overall record this season, including a 7-0-2 start to the regular season. They were one of the last unbeaten teams left in Division III. The Herons 16 wins this season are a nine-win improvement over last season and are more wins than they had their last two seasons combined. William Smith started to gain national attention this season, receiving votes in four D3hockey.com Women’s Top 10 polls and one USCHO.com poll.
Totten’s charges set several single-season records this year, including goals (103), assists (168) and points (271). William Smith enters the postseason ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense (4.12 gpg) and scoring margin ( 2.68 gpg), 10th in scoring defense (1.44 gpg), 11th on the penalty kill (89.5%), and 13th on the power play (20.2%). In conference play, the Herons averaged 4.56 goals per game this season and allowed only 1.31 goals per game, second only to Elmira in both categories.
Begley is tied for third in the UCHC in defenseman scoring with 19 points on six goals and 13 assists. She is 16th in the nation in that category, averaging 0.76 points per game. Sixteen of her 19 points came in UCHC contests this season. On the defensive end of the ice, Begley has recorded a team-high 31 blocked shots this season. She has one of William Smith’s five short-handed goals this season. Begley was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week once this season.
A three-year captain, Begely is one of two players to have seen action in all 100 of the Herons’ varsity games. She has compiled 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 career points. She ranks second all-time in assists, power-play goals (9), and points. Begley was named to the ECAC West All-Rookie team as a first-year.
Salmon played a career-high 22 games in goal this year. She was 13-4-4 overall with three shutouts. She is sporting a .951 save percentage and a 1.50 goals against average. She is second in the UCHC in goals against average, save percentage, and winning percentage (.714). Salmon has developed into one of the nation’s best goaltenders, ranking sixth in save percentage and 15th in goals against average. She made a season-high 50 saves in William Smith’s 2-2 tie with then No. 3 Elmira. Salmon also registered an assist on one of the Herons’ game-winning goals against Manhattanville.
The 2017 ECAC West Defensive Player of the Year, Salmon, has seen action in 69 career games. She enters the postseason with a 25-31-10 overall record. Salmon holds the program record for saves (2285), save percentage (.933), and goals against average (2.49). Along with defensive player of the year honors, she was named to the All-ECAC West first team last year.
For the fourth straight year, Federow leads William Smith in scoring. She has produced a career-high 20 assists and 32 points this season and matched her career-high with 12 goals. Federow leads the UCHC and ranks 12th in the nation in assists per game (1.00). Federow also leads the UCHC and is third in the nation with five game-winning goals. She ranks second in the conference in power-play points (2-10-12) and fifth in total points. In UCHC games, she recorded 23 points (7g, 16a). Federow notched a career-high four points twice this season. She had a goal and three assists against Salve Regina and two goals and two assists in a victory over Stevenson. Federow was named the UCHC Player of the Week and earned a spot on the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week following a weekend sweep of Manhattanville where she factored into three of William Smith’s four goals, including both game winners.
A three-year captain, Federow is the other player to have seen action in all 100 of the Herons’ varsity games. She is William Smith’s all-time leader with 40 goals, 48 assists, 88 points, 10 power-play goals, and eight game-winning goals.
Mulligan earned honorable mention honors after finishing the regular season with 17 points on six goals and 11 assists. She is tied for fifth in the UCHC in points by a defenseman and tied for seventh in the conference in power-play points (9). Mulligan scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Manhattanville on Jan. 27. On the other end of the ice, Mulligan blocked 24 shots this season.
In 75 career games, Mulligan has 11 goals, 28 assists and 39 points. She is tied for second all-time with nine power-play goals.
Mings made an instant impact on the William Smith lineup. She ranks fifth on the team with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points. Mings is fourth in the UCHC in rookie scoring, averaging 0.56 points per game. With one point she will match Federow’s rookie scoring record. . Mings is tied for the team and conference lead with five game-winning goals. She scored a career-high two goals in the Herons’ 6-2 win over Cortland in December. She tallied a career-high three points in that game. The two time UCHC Rookie of the Week, Mings tallied four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 16 conference games.
Martino also became a regular in the Herons’ lineup from the start of the season. In 25 games, she had four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. She has three multi-point games this season. Martino was named to the D3hockey.com National Team of the Week following William Smith’s weekend sweep of Chatham at the Cooler. Martino is fourth in the UCHC in rookie scoring and ninth in the conference in points by a defenseman.
The Herons will return to action this Saturday, March 3, when they travel to Pine Valley, N.Y., for the semifinals of the UCHC tournament. William Smith, which finished second in the regular season standings, earned a first round bye along with regular season champion Elmira. The Herons will take on Stevenson, the No. 3 seed, in Saturday’s second semifinal at 7 p.m. The Soaring Eagles will take on Utica in the first semifinal at 3 p.m.
