GORHAM, Maine – Sophomore Alex Davis (Pembroke, Mass.) scored a power-play goal with 3:36 remaining in regulation to give the visiting Sacred Heart University Pioneers a 2-2 overtime tie with the University of Southern Maine Huskies in the first game of a two-game, non-conference series Tuesday afternoon at the USM Ice Arena.

            The tie leaves the Huskies with a 3-3-4 overall mark while the Pioneers move to 7-8-2 overall.  The two teams will meet again Wednesday afternoon (3:00 p.m.).

            Davis knocked in the rebound of her own shot for her fourth goal of the season after USM rookie netminder Jenn Fuller (Houston, B.C.) stopped the initial shot.  Sophomore Natasha Klinoff (Concord, Mass.) picked up the lone assist on the play.

            Southern Maine grabbed a 2-1 lead early in the third period when sophomore Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) swept in a loose puck for a short-handed goal at 2:38.  SHU junior goalie Lexi Schutt (Elk River, Minn.) stopped junior Brittany Soar (Boxborough, Mass.) in close, but Pearl following the play slid the puck from the right wing circle past Schutt.  The goal was the third of the campaign for Pearl.  Soar and freshman Kaleigh Heath (Jericho, Vt.) earned the assists.

            In an evenly played first period, the teams traded goals in the final five minutes of play.  Junior Sara Hanna (Lino Lakes, Minn.) gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage at 15:45 netting her sixth goal of the season off a feed from sophomores Melissa Robbins (Nashua, N.H.) and Casey Stathopoulos (Waltham, Mass.).

            Rookie Cassandra Sherman (North Smithfield, R.I.) got the Huskies even less than two minutes later converting the rebound of shot by senior Ashley Grenier (South Berwick, Maine).  Schutt stopped Grenier's wrist shot from the left wing circle, but the rebound went out to Sherman who lit the lamp for the third time this season.  Senior Kailey Bubier (Auburn, Maine) also picked up an assist on the play.

            The teams skated through a scoreless second period.  Southern Maine piled up a 10-2 edge in shots, but Schutt was equal to the task.  The Pioneers' also killed off four short-handed situations, including a 56-second span where the Huskies had a 5-on-3 advantage.

            Fuller recorded 23 saves in the game while Schutt finished with 36 saves.  Fuller made an outstanding stop late in overtime on Hanna to preserve the tie.  Schutt made four saves in the five-minute extra session.