(Courtesy of St. Michael's Sports Information)

Evangelista Stops 33 for Shutout in First Career Start

            SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The visiting University of Southern Maine women's ice hockey team earned its first victory of the season Friday night shutting out Saint Michael's College, 3-0, in New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) action in Cairns Arena.

            The Huskies are now 1-2 overall and in conference play.  The Purple Knights slip to 1-3-1 overall and 1-2 in the league.

            Junior Katie Couture (Harrisville, R.I./Hebron Academy) had a goal and an assist for Southern Maine, while senior Cassandra Sherman (North Smithfield, R.I./Rice Memorial Prep) and sophomore Emilee Burris (Brookfield, Nova Scotia/Ridley College) also scored.  Sherman also had a 15-of-19 effort on faceoffs.

            First-year USM goaltender Britney Evangelista (North Smithfield, R.I./Junior Blades) had 33 stops to earn the shutout in her first collegiate start.  Junior Abby Burke (Bedford, Mass./The Rivers School) made 37 saves for Saint Michael's.

            Both teams had early flurries in the opening period, with a pair of Purple Knights shots being stopped before Burke responded with four straight saves, all in the first 1:34 of the game.  Burke came up with four stops during a Southern Maine power play that began at 4:40, keeping the contest scoreless.  At 15:45, Burke denied Couture's breakaway bid, and Witwicki's point-blank try was denied by Evangelista with 20 seconds to go.

            The Huskies cracked the scoring column 1:15 into the second period, as first-year Julia Buffalini's (Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) initial shot was pushed aside by Burke's blocker, but the rebound bounced to the left post, where Sherman grabbed the loose puck and tallied.  With her team down 1-0, sophomore Katherine O'Brien (East Sandwich, Mass./Tilton School) skated in alone with 6:20 gone but was turned away, and first-year Brenna Galvin's (Dorchester, Mass./Boston Latin School) follow-up attempt was also stopped.

            Couture looked to build upon Southern Maine's lead around the 12:55 mark, but both of her tries were denied, including as she redirected a teammate's pass while high in the slot.  Less than a minute later, senior Amanda Kempainen (Chazy, N.Y./Chazy Flyers U19) had a potential tying bid stopped from point-blank range after she one-timed junior Erin Dwyer's (Weymouth, Mass./Archbishop Williams) pass. Sophomore Ashley Dineen (Somers, N.Y./Canterbury School) broke alone up the left wing in the waning seconds but was stopped, and Couture countered with a breakout 10 seconds later, sending a shot wide of the target just before the final horn.

            Dwyer unsuccessfully tried stuffing in a shot at the left post 1:25 into the third period, and the Huskies doubled their lead shortly thereafter.  After Couture had an initial shot blocked out front, the puck slid toward an open left side of the net, which Burris hit at 3:17 while Burke tried repositioning. Dwyer and Kempainen's consecutive point-blank shots were saved a little less than a minute later, and junior Sarah Bagley's (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) redirection from the slot at 7:58 was stopped by Evangelista's right toe. Couture padded the lead at 11:55, slipping the puck through the crease from high on the right side, just sneaking her shot inside the left post.

            Southern Maine travels to Manchester, N.H., tomorrow (3:00 p.m.) to face Saint Anselm College.  Saint Michael's hosts the University of New England tomorrow (1:00 p.m.) to cap a season-opening six-game stretch during which five contests occurred at home.

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