Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's hockey team picked up its second straight 4-0 shutout victory on Saturday afternoon against the Univ. of Southern Maine at Kreitzberg Arena.
Junior defenseman Taylor Cross (Saugus, Mass.) notched a goal and two assists to lead the Cadets' offense on the day as they won their 19th straight ECAC East regular season game.
Norwich (2-1-1, 2-0-0 ECAC East) also got goals from Adelle Murphy (Roseau, Minn.), Madyson Moore (Dubuque, Iowa) and Erin Joyce (Manchester, N.H.) as they stayed unbeaten in league play on the year.
Norwich took the lead just 52 seconds into the game when Murphy tipped a shot from Cross at the point into the top corner of the net to give the Cadets the only lead they would need.
Southern Maine (0-2-0, 0-2-0 ECAC East) responded though, outplaying Norwich for a majority of the rest of the first period and even outshot the Cadets 7-3 after the first 20 minutes. Sophomore goalie Celeste Robert (Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec) stood tall however, making each save to keep NU on top.
Norwich finally increased the lead to 2-0 at the 4:38 mark of the second period when Joyce finished off a 2-on-1 rush with freshman Sarah Schwenzfeier (Hingham, Mass.) also notched her third assist of the season on the goal. Joyce beat Southern Maine goalie Liz Bergstrom with a low shot that squeezed between the Huskies' goaltenders skate and the right post.
The Cadets added another goal in the last minute of the period with Moore collecting a rebound and firing a shot past Bergstrom. Freshman Heidi Amato (Theresa, N.Y.) had an initial shot saved by Bergstrom. Cross also picked up an assist on the goal after winning a battle along the boards and outlet a pass to Amato.
Cross capped the scoring with a power play goal at the 16:04 mark of the third period by ripping a slap shot from the point that beat Bergstrom with traffic in front of her. Desirae Kuhlmann (Swift Current, Saskatchewan) and Murphy picked up assists on the goal.
Norwich outshot USM 24-11 with Robert stopping all 11 shots she faced to earn her second shutout of the season in her third straight start. Bergstrom made 20 saves for USM to drop to 0-2 on the year.
Norwich will travel to New England College and Plymouth State next Friday and Saturday for its first road contests of 2014-15. Puck drop is 4 p.m. on Friday with NEC and 2 p.m. on Saturday with Plymouth State.
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