Nine women's ice hockey players qualify for ECAC East All-Academic laurels

COLCHESTER, Vt. - Nine members of the Saint Michael's College women's ice hockey program were named to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East All-Academic team on Friday, including four who have now earned multiple honors. This marked the fourth straight season that at least five Purple Knights received the academic recognition.

Seniors Kiera Nelligan (Melrose, Mass./Arlington Catholic) and Casey Yelton (Arnold, Md./Washington Pride) each drew the accolade for the third time, while juniors Melissa Hallisey (Dedham, Mass./Dedham) and Erin Stevens (Watertown, Conn./Connecticut Polar Bears) earned their second honors. Senior Madelena Santore (Millington, N.J./New Jersey Rockets), junior Melissa Coughlin (Franklin, Mass./Franklin), and sophomores Courtney Burnett (Deep River, Ontario/Northwood School), Michele Doherty (Chelmsford, Mass./East Coast Wizards) and Tracy Stevenson (Wayne, Maine/Kents Hill School) all received their initial award.

The Purple Knights' selections were among 87 in the 12-team ECAC East, as Saint Michael's tied for third with its nine qualifiers.

To be eligible for the award, members of ECAC East ice hockey programs need to meet the following criteria: hold a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade-point average; have completed at least one academic year at their institution; and appear in at least 50 percent of their team's games, or log 33 percent of their team's goaltending minutes.