Box Score 

RYE, N.Y. - Sarah Scardino scored two goals and added one assist, and Cindy Fortin made 27 saves as the Norwich University women's ice hockey team knocked off Southern Maine, 8-2, in the ECAC East Tournament semifinals Saturday evening at Playland Ice Casino.

With the victory, Norwich (18-8-1) advances to the ECAC East Tournament championship game for the first time in the very brief history of the program. The second-seeded Cadets will square off with Salve Regina in the title game on Sunday, March 8, at 3 p.m. The fifth-seeded Seahawks upset top-seeded Manhattanville, 1-0, in the first semifinal of the day.

Brittane Michaud added two goals for the Cadets, who jumped out to a 4-0 lead early in the second period and cruised past the third-seeded Huskies. Norwich's power play was on fire, scoring four power play goals on the night.

Norwich jumped on top 1-0 just 3:01 into the first period when Julie Fortier scored her 16th goal of the season. Scardino made it 2-0 midway through the opening frame when she tallied her first goal of the contest on the power play. The goal, which was scored at the 10:53 mark, was assisted by Amanda Wilks and Melissa Rundlett.

The Cadets completely dominated the first period, outshooting the Huskies 23-5 in the stanza.

Norwich extended its lead to 4-0 within the first four minutes of the second period. Sophie Leclerc put the Cadets in front, 3-0, at the 3:08 mark when she netted her team-leading 18th goal of the season. The marker, which turned out to be the game-winning goal, was assisted by Kelsey Cone and Keely Blythe. NU struck again just 42 seconds later when Michaud potted her first goal of the game at the 3:50 mark. Fortier and Rundlett were credited with assists on the goal, which gave the Cadets a commanding 4-0 lead.

Southern Maine (14-9-4) cut its deficit in half later in the second period when the Huskies scored a pair of power play goals in a span of 20 seconds. Jessica Knight struck first, scoring on a five-on-three power play off assists from Danielle Ward and Jana Sacco at the 13:40 mark. The goal released one Norwich player out of the penalty box, and resulted in a five-on-four power play for the Huskies. It only took 20 seconds for USM to score again as Joanna Gaube scored off an assist from Knight at the 14:00 mark.

Just when it looked as though Southern Maine was beginning to gain some momentum, Scardino tallied her second goal of the game with just 1:25 to play in the second period. The goal, which was Scardino's eighth of the season, was assisted by Leclerc and Caitie Banfield.

Southern Maine outshot Norwich 14-13 in the second period, but the Cadets were able to extend their lead during an entertaining 20 minutes of action.

The Cadets blew the game wide open in the third period, scoring three power play goals in the final 20 minutes. Michaud opened the final period with her second goal of the game at the 1:39 mark. The unassisted marker was the fifth of the year for Michaud. Wilks made it 7-2 at the 13:37 mark when she scored her 15th goal of the season. The goal, which was set up by Ann DiVito and Danielle Del Dotto, was scored during a two-man advantage for the Cadets. Del Dotto capped the scoring in the final second as she scored off an assist from Scardino at the 19:59 mark. It was Del Dotto's second goal of the season.

USM outshot NU 10-9 in the final frame, but it was the Cadets that scored three goals en route to the victory.

For the game, Norwich held a 45-29 edge in shots. Fortin, who improves to 11-5-0 on the season, turned aside 27 of the 29 shots that she faced. Kristen Gresko (9-9-2) yielded eight goals on 45 shots in the loss.

The Cadets went 4-for-10 on the power play, while the Huskies were 2-for-8 with the man advantage.

Norwich will face Salve Regina in the ECAC East Tournament championship game on Sunday, March 8, at 3 p.m. The winner will earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Neither school has ever won an ECAC East title. The teams split their two regular season meetings, with each team winning on home ice. It marks the second straight season that Norwich and Salve Regina have met in the ECAC East Tournament. Last season, the Seahawks upset the Cadets in the conference quarterfinals 2-1 in overtime.