NORTHFIELD, Vt. -Sarah Scardino scored a pair
of goals, and three other Cadets added markers as the Norwich
University women's ice hockey team defeated visiting St. Michael's
College, 5-3, in the inaugural "Tribute to the Troops" game played
Tuesday evening at Kreitzberg Arena.
Norwich (9-6-2, 6-5-2 ECAC East) opened the scoring at the 15:22
mark of the first period when Scardino, who is the reigning ECAC
"Rookie of the Week", scored her first goal of the night. The
Stoughton, Mass., native took a nice feed from Sophie Leclerc in
the slot and blasted the puck past St. Michael's goaltender Melanie
Cullen to put the Cadets on top 1-0.
St. Michael's (5-12-1, 5-8-1 ECAC East) actually outshot
Norwich, 8-7, in the first period, but the Cadets carried their 1-0
lead into the second period.
Norwich doubled its lead early in the second stanza when Hilary
Davis scored a power play goal at the 2:49 mark. The marker, Davis'
fourth of the season, came off an assist from Annie DiVito.
Later in the period, the two teams combined to score four goals
in a span of 2:58. St. Michael's began the offensive flurry when
Crystal Sarno scored at the 14:34 mark to cut the Purple Knights'
deficit in half. Norwich regained its two-goal cushion just 52
seconds later when Ashley Potvin registered her first career goal
off a rebound at the 15:26 mark. The Cadets extended their lead to
4-1 moments later when Amanda Gage tallied her second goal of the
season at the 16:54 mark. Sarno brought St. Michael's back to
within two goals just 38 seconds later when she scored her second
goal of the period, and fifth of the season at the 17:32 mark.
Norwich outshot St. Michael's, 13-7, during a
highly-entertaining second period, and the Cadets took a 4-2
advantage into the final 20 minutes.
Scardino scored her second goal of the contest, and her sixth of
the season, at the 14:13 mark of the third period as the Cadets
increased their lead to 5-2. St. Michael's Meghan Sweezey closed
the scoring with her team-leading seventh goal of the season at the
16:53 mark.
Cindy Fortin earned the victory for Norwich between the pipes as
the freshman goaltender made 27 saves.
St. Michael's outshot Norwich, 30-29, for the game.
Norwich ended the night 1-for-3 on the power play, while St.
Michael's was 0-for-3 with the man advantage.
Norwich returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 9, when the Cadets
travel to Colchester, Vt., to take on St. Michael's. Faceoff is
slated for 3 p.m.
