PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. -- Third-ranked Norwich's Achilles' heel in 2013-14 has been the top-ranked Plattsburgh State Cardinals.
After falling in its season opener 6-0 to Plattsburgh, Norwich fell again to the Cardinals 6-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena in non-conference action.
Plattsburgh State sophomore forward Giovanna Senese scored twice to lead the Cardinals' offense in their third consecutive victory against Norwich (9-2-0, 6-0-0 ECAC East). The loss also snapped Norwich's nine-game winning streak.
Shannon Stewart, Ali Vakos, Jordan Caldwell and Caitlin Gilligan all added goals as well for Plattsburgh, who is outscoring its opponents 52-1 through 11 games so far this season.
Plattsburgh outshot Norwich 42-27. Sydney Aveson stopped all 27 shots she faced to pick up her eighth shutout of the season.
No. 9 Wisconsin-Superior 4, Finlandia 1
SUPERIOR, Wis. -- Despite falling behind in the contest, Wisconsin-Superior rallied to score four goals in the final 27 minutes of the rapidly played game to pick up a 4-1 win and complete the weekend sweep of Finlandia.
The Yellowjackets are now unbeaten in their past six games (4-0-2).
More than half of the second period was played without a goal before Finlandia broke through to open the scoring. Brock Nelsen put the Lions up 1-0 with a goal 11:23 into the period.
The Yellowjackets came right back and evened the score when freshman Hailey Adair scored her fourth goal of the season at 13:57 to make it 1-1. Just 31 seconds later the Yellowjackets took the lead for good when with the team's playing four-on-four, Karen Larson scored her third goal of the weekend at 14:28. Larson's eighth goal of the season was assisted by Kelsey Firkus and Dani Schultz and the Yellowjackets were up by a goal after two periods.
Schultz gave the Yellowjackets some insurance at 7:08 of the third period, scoring her team-leading ninth goal of the season to make it 3-1. The Yellowjackets closed the scoring at 15:22 on the power play when Firkus and Amanda Coey set up Alison Shrift for her second of the season to make the final score 4-1.
Shanley Peters earned her second win of the weekend, making 18 saves to improve to 8-2-4 on the season. Breanna Merriam made 33 stops for Finlandia.
No. 10 Robert Morris 3, St. Lawrence 0
PITTSBURGH -- Robert Morris freshman goaltender Jessica Dodds registered her fourth shutout of the season this afternoon as the Colonials defeated the St. Lawrence Saints 3-0.
No. 10 Robert Morris (18-3-1) extended its unbeaten streak to 11 games and earned its seventh consecutive victory. The seven-game winning streak is currently tied for the best mark in NCAA Division I women's hockey.
For the second consecutive game, it was junior forward Rebecca Vint that opened the scoring. After senior assistant captain Thea Imbrogno forced a turnover in the Colonials' defensive zone, she passed it up to freshman forward Brittany Howard skating up the ice. Howard then gave it to Vint, and the two passed it back-and-forth to each other a few times before the junior fired it in from in front of the crease. The goal was Vint's 11th of the season and also moved her into sole possession of third place in career points with 98.
After registering a secondary assist on the first goal, Imbrogno tallied one of her own 7:37 into the second period. Brandi Pollock passed it up to Howard, who then found Imbrogno skating down the left side of the ice. Imbrogno lifted the puck top-shelf, sneaking over Saints goaltender Carmen MacDonald's right shoulder to extend the Colonial lead to 2-0.
The 2-0 score would hold for the remainder of the second period and most of the third. With 3:49 remaining in the game, St. Lawrence pulled MacDonald to get an extra skater on the ice. However, that strategy backfired as junior forward Katie Fergus gathered a pass from sophomore forward Ashley Vesci and rifled the puck into an open net. Freshman forward Rikki Meilleur registered her first career point on the goal with a secondary assist.
For the third consecutive game, Dodds set a new career-high in saves. The two-time reigning College Hockey America (CHA) Goaltender of the Month stopped 32 shots – half of those coming in the second period. She is now 15-0-1 on the season.
With two assists, Howard moved into RMU single-season record books. The freshman forward now is tied for third with Brianna Delaney (2010-11) with 19 and sits just three away from the school record of 22, set by Vint in her freshman campaign (2011-12). Howard also is tied for fifth in single-season points with Delaney (2009-10) after tallying her 30th and 31st.
