(Courtesy of UNE Sports Information)

Southern Maine Skates to 1-1 Tie at UNE

            BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England and University of Southern Maine skated to a 1-1 tie in a New England Hockey Conference (NEHC) women's game played Friday afternoon (Nov. 20) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

            Both teams now stand at 1-3-1 overall and have identical 1-3-1 marks in league play.

            Rookie Taylor Fowler (Greene, Maine) gave the Nor'easters a 1-0 advantage halfway through the first period, stuffing home a shot from just outside the crease.  Sophomore Annie Mullen (Concord, N.H) assisted on the play.

            Junior Ally Vanidestine (Bangor, Maine) tied the game up for Southern Maine at 14:03 of the second when she collected a rebound and fired the puck into an open cage for her first goal of the season.  Junior Olivia Barragree (Red Lodge, Mont.) had put the initial shot on goal, which was saved by UNE junior goaltender Sydney Helmbrecht (Grand Rapids, Minn.).

            UNE had a chance to pull ahead with just over four minutes remaining in regulation, but USM rookie goalie Britney Evangelista (North Smithfield, R.I.) denied junior Abby Kinens (Houlton, Maine), who had broken in behind the Husky defense.

            Southern Maine would have a good chance to win the game in overtime when senior Cassandra Sherman (North Smithfield, R.I.) got loose and closed in on Helmbrecht with just over a minute remaining, but the junior netminder came up with a good stop to preserve a tie.

            USM held a modest 32-27 advantage in shots on goal. Evangelista finished with 26 saves, while Helmbrecht had 31 for UNE.

            Both team return to action with conference games tomorrow. Southern Maine hosts UMass Boston at 1 p.m., and the Nor'easters will play a road game versus Franklin Pierce University (3 p.m.).

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