No. 6/7 Saints Use Another Third Period Rally to Tie No. 3 UNH
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Whit Haynes '10The Saints celebrate after Michelle Ng's first collegiate goal against UNH.
Oct. 24: The No. 6/7 St. Lawrence University women's hockey team came from behind in the third period for the second time in as many days to earn a 3-3 tie with No. 3 New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Appleton Arena. The Saints' first-year students were key in the game, as they accounted for all three goals including two in the final seven minutes of regulation to dig out of a two-goal deficit and earn a tie with one of the nation's premier teams.
St. Lawrence (2-1-3, 0-0-0) managed to outshoot UNH 16-8 in the third period to force the extra frame. Meanwhile, the Wildcats (5-1-2, 1-0-0) showed why they're the best power play unit in the country, as two of their three goals came with the extra skater. The tie seems fitting, as it keeps the all-time series between the two powerhouses deadlocked at 10-10-4.
"I thought we played with a lot of desperation in the third period and created more scoring chances for ourselves," said St. Lawrence head coach Chris Wells. "We had some great leadership on our bench to keep us poised to make another comeback effort against a very skilled UNH team."
New Hampshire struck first when Brittany Skudder scored a power play tally only 11 seconds into UNH's first power play try of the game. Julie Allen fired a hard shot towards goal that was blocked by a St. Lawrence defender. However, the puck ricocheted directly to Skudder who blitzed a shot past Saint goalie Brittony Chartier only 3:48 into the opening stanza. Allen and Courtney Sheary were credited with helpers on the goal.
The Saints would even the scoring at 1-1 at 13:14 of the first when rookie Michelle Ng scored her first collegiate goal on UNH netminder Kayley Herman. After fellow first-year student Kelly Sabatine hit the post, the puck bounced into the slot and with Herman out of position, Ng was able to wrist the puck past her to tie the score.
The Wildcats would end the period on a high note, however, as they built a 2-1 lead only 4:09 later. A mere two seconds after the Saints killed a UNH power play try, Kelly Paton banked a shot off of Chartier's skate from the goal line and inside the near post for her third goal of the season at 17:23. Micaela Long and Kristine Horn picked up assists on the goal, as the visitors finished the frame with an impressive 17-7 advantage in shots on goal.
Chartier kept her team within striking distance with 15 first period saves including on Kristina Lavoie on a 2-on-0 breakaway chance in the first period.
Though the Saints would outshoot the Wildcats 7-6 in the second, New Hampshire was able to pick up the lone goal of the period at 15:15, again using the nation's top power play. Skudder came through again, this time with a pretty deflection off of a slap shot from Raylen Dziengelewski and over Chartier's right shoulder to give UNH a 3-1 lead heading to the third period.
St. Lawrence found a new gear in the third, playing arguably its best period of hockey thus far in the 2009-10 season. With the puck consistently in front of Herman, the home team finally broke through when Sabatine scored at 13:49. Sophomore Vanessa Emond carried the puck towards Herman from the right and snapped a shot that bounced off of the goalie and over her head into the crease. Sabatine was waiting to pounce and knocked the loose puck into the vacated goal to cut her team's deficit in half at 2-1.
When Lavoie was whistled for a penalty with 17:47 to play in regulation, Coach Wells opted to pull Chartier for a 6-on-4 advantage in search of the tying goal. The Saints responded by netting the power play, extra attacker goal at 18:48 to knot the score at 3-3. Emond again got the play started, as she swung a pass to senior assistant captain Britni Smith at the blue line, who fired a one-timer towards Herman. With the goalie screened, first-year student Kayla Sullivan deflected the shot into the lower-right corner of the net for her second goal of the season to force overtime.
Both goalies were the bright spots in overtime, as Chartier made five saves in the extra session to Herman's three. Chartier finished with 33 stops in the game to earn the tie, while Herman's 14-save third period lifted her game total to 30.
New Hampshire finished with a 2-for-3 mark on the power play, while St. Lawrence was 1-for-7. The Wildcats also closed with a narrow 36-33 advantage on shots on goal. St. Lawrence remained unbeaten when trailing after two periods this season (2-0-2), but winless at Appleton Arena thus far (0-1-3).
St. Lawrence will have a quick turnaround this week, as they open the 2009-10 ECAC Hockey regular season schedule on Tuesday, October 27 against North Country rival No. 4 Clarkson University. The puck will drop on the Saints and Golden Knights at Cheel Arena in Potsdam, NY at 7:00pm.