BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — The LIU women's hockey team has secured the first outright NEWHA regular-season title and first No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in the young program's history.

The Sharks defeated host Stonehill, 2-0, on Friday at Bridgewater Ice Arena to clinch the league championship with five regular-season games still remaining.

LIU has earned an opening-round bye and will host the lowest remaining seed in a semifinal game on March 1 at 7 p.m. at Northwell Health Ice Center.

Should the Sharks prevail, they would host the NEWHA championship game with an NCAA Tournament automatic berth at stake on March 4, also at 7 p.m.

The Friday clincher secured the second straight regular-season title for the Sharks. LIU shared the honor a year ago with Franklin Pierce and was awarded the NEWHA tournament's No. 2 seed.

LIU sits at 16-1-2 in the NEWHA and is unbeaten in 17 straight conference games.

On Friday against the Skyhawks, Jeannie Wallner scored midway through the first period and Carrigan Umpherville added a second-period goal to stake the Sharks to a 2-0 lead. Tindra Holm recorded her sixth shutout.

The Sharks and Stonehill meet again on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Bridgewater, Mass.

"This is definitely a special moment and a well-deserved accomplishment for this entire group," first-year coach Kelly Nash said. "This is just a step in the plan for our bigger goal, but we want to make sure we celebrate these wins also. There is still so much we have our sights set on this season. We're excited to keep working for it all."