Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's ice hockey team had its 44-game Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) East regular season unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday afternoon with a 4-3 loss to Saint Anselm College at Kreitzberg Arena.
Saint Anselm senior forward Rosemarie Giarrusso scored 45 seconds into overtime on a 5-on-3 power play to hand the No. 1-ranked Cadets (5-1-2, 5-1-0 ECAC East) their first conference loss since Feb. 7, 2010 when they lost 7-2 to Manhattanville.
Giarrusso beat Norwich sophomore goalie Loren Carrier (Chandler, Ariz.) five-hole from 10 feet out below the right faceoff circle after Jacqueline Bouch's initial shot from the blue line deflected right to her stick.
With Tori Charron already in the box, Norwich was whistled for a second penalty 27 seconds into overtime with Haley Gibson sent to the box for a trip.
Saint Anselm (5-1-1, 4-1-1 ECAC East) made the most on the two-player advantage with Giarrusso scoring her team-leading fifth goal of the season and 58th of her career.
Giarrusso's goal capped a run of a three-straight St. Anselm goals as the Hawks rallied from a 3-1 deficit heading into the third period to stun the top-ranked Cadets.
Saint Anselm opened the scoring at the 12:25 mark of the first period when Bouchie scored her first goal of the season beating Carrier low to the glove side on the power play to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead off assists from Tiffany Herron and Kathryn Picarello.
Norwich answered though with two goals late in the period from Alison Greene (Massena, N.Y.) and Kayla Parsons (Fairbanks, Alaska) to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room for the first intermission.
Greene leveled the score with her fifth goal of the season at the 17:20 mark by slamming home a rebound on the doorstep of the crease after Saint Anselm goalie Lindsey Brown made the initial save on Marie-Philip Guay's (Longueuil, Quebec) shot from the point.
Parsons put NU up 2-1 just 1:40 later by blasting a shot from the blue line through traffic that beat Brown off assists from Guay and Tyne Gove (Berwick, Ontario). The goal came on the power play and was Parsons' fifth of the season.
Although Saint Anselm carried the play in the second period, outshooting Norwich 8-6, the Cadets added to their lead at the 18:27 mark of the frame with Kaycie Anderson (Maple Plain, Minn.) tallying her third goal of the season off assists from Greene and Stephanie Invernizzi (Hingham, Mass.)
In the third period the ice tilted even further in the Hawks' direction as Saint Anselm outshot Norwich 7-2. Herron cut the deficit to 3-2 just 45 seconds into the final stanza by diving full extension to poke a loose rebound past Carrier after the NU goalie saved the initial shot on the 2-on-1 rush from Courtney Winters.
Saint Anselm kept pressing in search of the equalizer and finally at the 17:52 mark the Hawks' hustle was rewarded when Franny Nicholson found the back of the net with blast from the top of the slot after the puck kicked out to her. Winters and Herron recorded assists on the goal.
Carrier made 16 saves for Norwich and was credited with her first loss of her career in the Maroon & Gold. She falls to 4-1-2 on the year. Brown picked up the victory for Saint Anselm making 17 saves to improve to 4-1-1.
Norwich is off until Sunday, Dec. 2 when it travels to Holy Cross to take on the Division I Crusaders at 4 p.m. in Worcester, Mass.
