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(Courtesy of Nichols College Sports Information)

            HARRISVILLE, R.I. -- The University of Southern Maine women's ice hockey team scored five unanswered goals to defeat Nichols College, 5-1, in an ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Women's East game at the June Rockwell Levy Rink Friday evening.

            The win snapped a four-game losing slid for the Huskies who improved to 4-10-1 overall and 3-7-1 in conference action.  The loss was the seven straight for Nichols, which dipped to 2-13-0 overall and 1-8-0 in league play.

            Junior Krista-Jean Forand (Plymouth, Mass.) gave Nichols the early lead, putting in a rebound four minutes into the game. Senior SueEllen Nault's (Goffstown, N.H.) shot was saved and Forand picked it up to lift into the open left side of the net.

            Southern Maine equalized late in the frame on a rebound as well, with freshman Erin Banfield (Montpelier, Vt.) pushing in a loose puck off a shot from senior Mary Vaughan (Brunswick, Maine) at 17:12.

            The Huskies scored three unanswered goals in the second period, including two just over a minute apart within the opening four minutes.  Junior Bridget Mini (Everett, Mass.) fired from the top of the right circle and her shot trickled through for a 2-1 lead at 2:56.  At 3:58, sophomore Kailey Bubier (Auburn, Maine) potted a rebound off a shot from rookie Courtney White (Medford, Mass.) to give the Huskies a two-goal advantage.

            Junior Katie Paradis (Rochester, N.H.) capped the period's scoring at 12:28 with a backhand redirect of a pass from classmate Kylie Blasen (Okemos, Mich.), giving the Huskies a 4-1 lead to carry into the second intermission.

            Nichols had a slew of chances on a power play midway through the final stanza, peppering Huskies first-year goaltender Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs, Colo.) with several shots, but came up empty handed.

            Southern Maine, meanwhile, found the back of the net at 14:37 when sophomore Alex Smith (Winthrop, Mass.) sent down a puck from the blue line that made it way past Nichols goaltender Melissa Mansfield (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.).  White was credited with the only assist.

            Freshman Francesca Palazzo (Bernardston, Mass.) allowed four goals and made 15 saves in the start for Nichols before giving way to Mansfield midway through the second period. Mansfield recorded 24 saves over the final 26 minutes.  Lee made 30 stops to earn the win.

            Nichols wraps up its five-game homestand Saturday (4:40 p.m.) with an ECAC East game against Plymouth State University. Southern Maine travels to Manhattanville College Saturday (4:30 p.m.) for an ECAC East game.

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