HOLDERNESS, N.H. – The Norwich University Women's Hockey team picked up a 2-0 victory on Friday afternoon, closing out its exhibition slate with a strong two-way performance against Little East Conference (LEC) member Plymouth State. 

Senior goaltender Madison Brunet (Timmins, Ont.) played the first half of the game before giving way to Payton Sutherland (Brighton, Colo.), as the duo combined for the shutout.

The Cadets' special teams were sharp, going 1-for-2 on the power play and a perfect 100 percent on the penalty kill.

Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) opened the scoring in the first period with a power-play goal off the rush. After getting the puck from Olivia Boyer (Saint Paul, Minn.), Alex Leslie (Irishtown, N.B.) carried the puck into the zone and fed Ricker in the slot, where she buried a quick shot top shelf to give Norwich the lead.

In the second period, Natalie Heutmaker (Eagan, Minn.) extended the advantage, tipping home a slap shot from Rylie McIntyre (Brunswick, Maine). Libby Lane (Northville, Mich.) also earned an assist on the play.

Head Coach Justin Simpson was pleased with his team's progress through the exhibition schedule.

"This was another step in our process and journey as we build towards the regular season," said Simpson. "Being in a tight game allowed our group to feel different challenges and situations. I was pleased with our special teams as they played a big role in our success today. It was nice to see our power play score its third goal in our two exhibition games and for our penalty kill to be 100%."

The Cadets will open the regular season on Oct. 31 when they travel to Plattsburgh State to take on the seventh ranked Cardinals at 3:00 p.m.