universities separated by roughly a two-hour drive in men's basketball and other sports. Both are long-standing members of the ACHA's ruling class and are far and away the top two programs in the northeast, as evidenced by the fact that both rank among the top four nationally in number of ACHA National Tournament appearances. Naturally, the ECWHL title tends to be decided by URI-UMass meetings - the teams have combined to win all but one of the conference's playoff championships and all but two of its regular season crowns in 14 seasons of league play. The two have directly collided in the conference championship game at least nine times (the 2010 playoffs are undocumented), with the Rams holding a 6–3 advantage in those meetings (although the Minutewomen have won the last three, in 2015, 2016 and 2017, most recently by a 3–0 count). The 2008 final was particularly notable. In that contest, Rhode Island stormed out to a 3–0 lead after the first period, only to see Massachusetts reply with four unanswered to take the lead in the third period. However, the Rams' Rachel MacDonald forced overtime with 3:25 remaining, allowing URI's Justine Ducie to win the trophy in the sixth minute of the third extra period. Both URI (12 times) and UMass (13 times) have qualified for the ACHA championships very frequently in their 14 years of conference membership, so ECWHL playoff failures have generally not proven fatal - or final. The teams have met five times at the ACHA National Tournament, with the Rams holding a 3–1–1 head-to-head edge. Each side has knocked the other from the tournament once, with a 1–0 Rhode Island win in the 2007 quarterfinals answered by a 2–1 result for the Minutewomen in the 2014 semifinals. During the 2016 tournament, with both teams already eliminated in the pool stage, URI gained a measure of revenge for UMass' victory in the ECWHL title game three weeks earlier with a 5–2 win behind two goals each from Alisha DiFilippo and Monica Darby. One other significant event in the rivalry's history took place in 2007, when Cara Murphy transferred from URI to UMass. Murphy had been a second-team All-American twice with the Rams, while leading the team in scoring during the 2006–07 season, and finished her career in the Bay Staters' colors with another pair of All-American seasons. Penn State Perhaps no series has reflected URI's