Box Score (Photo Courtesy of Adam Hatt)
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich women's ice hockey team got goals from nine different forwards as the Cadets cruised to a 10-0 win over Castleton State on Sunday afternoon at Kreitzberg Arena in ECAC East action.
Norwich (16-2-1, 13-0-1 ECAC East) was led by senior forward Julie Fortier (Saint-Malachie, Quebec) who returned to the lineup after missing one game and scored two goals to go along with two assists for four points.
Sophomore forward Meghan Papagno (Wakefield, Mass.) had a season-high four-point night with a goal and three assists, while junior Jackie Perez (San Gabriel, Calif.) and freshman Kaycie Anderson (Maple Plain, Minn.) each had a goal and two assists.
Perez opened the scoring just 2:03 into the game when she poked her own rebound past Castleton State goalie Paula Stephens to give the Cadets a lead they would never look back from.
Senior team captain Melissa Rundlett (Saco, Maine) and Anderson each added goals to give Norwich a 3-0 lead going into the first intermission.
Jillayne DeBus (Howell, Mich.), Papagno and Fortier each scored a goal in a span of 4:56 to start the second period to stretch the Norwich lead to 6-0 after two periods of play.
Mollie Fitzpatrick (Portland, Maine), Fortier, Renee Lortie (Cornwall, Ontario) and Vanessa Champagne (St. Naziere, Quebec) all popped in goals in the third period to round out the Norwich scoring.
Fortier's two goals bring her season total to 20. She is the first Division III player to reach 20 this season with the next closest having 16. Fortier also regained the national scoring lead with her four-point night. She now has 34 points on the season with Gustavus Adolphus' Allie Schwab in second with 30.
Norwich outshot Castleton 45-5. Sophomore goaltender Kelly Fisk (Hannibal, N.Y.) stopped all five shots she saw to pick up her 10th win and fifth shutout of the season. With Sunday's shutout, Fisk broke the Norwich single-season record for shutouts in a season. Cindy Fortin and Chiara Traversa (Torino, Italy) previously shared the record with four.
Stephens took the loss for Castleton (6-12-0, 5-7-0 ECAC East) after surrendering four goals on 12 shots before being pulled for Katharyn Dembowski early in the second period. Dembowski made 23 saves on 29 shots.
Norwich stretched its ECAC East unbeaten streak to 35 straight games and has now outscored its league opponents by an overwhelming 100-4 this season.
The Cadets hit the road for three straight games before returning home for three games to close out the regular season. NU travels to Southern Maine and Plymouth State next weekend before a mid-week showdown with Plattsburgh State on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The Cadets then have the weekend off before starting its final regular season home stand with another non-conference showdown with in-state foe Middlebury on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
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