Southern Maine, Castleton Skate to 1-1 Draw

            GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine Huskies and Castleton State College Spartans women's ice hockey teams skated to a 1-1 overtime tie Saturday afternoon in ECAC Women's East play at the USM Ice Arena.

            The tie was the second straight for the Huskies who tied nationally ranked Norwich University on Friday.  The Huskies are now 7-13-3 overall and 5-7-3 in the league.  The Spartans, unbeaten in their last three games (2-0-1), are 11-10-2 overall and 6-7-2 in ECAC East games.

            The Huskies and Spartans are in a three-way battle with the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons for the final home-ice berth in the upcoming playoffs.  The Spartans and Beacons are on 14 points, tied for fourth, with the Huskies one point back.

            Southern Maine jumped on top midway through the opening period when senior Julia Pearl (Essex Jct., Vt.) fired home from short range the rebound of a shot by junior Chelsea Boucher (Gilford, N.H.) at 11:08.  Boucher and sophomore Katie Couture (Harrisville, R.I.) worked the puck free along the right-wing boards, with Boucher carrying the puck into the circle and shooting on Castleton junior goalie Jess Cameron (Mt. Mellick, P.E.I.).  Cameron made the pad save, but the rebound went right to Pearl at the back post.  Pearl's quick shot resulted in her seventh goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.

            Castleton State tied the game in the final minute of the period when junior Anna Daniels (Falun, Sweden) intercepted a clearing pass at the USM blue line and skated in to about 25 feet out before beating USM junior goalie Nia Kelly (Santa Rosa, Calif.) for an unassisted marker at 19:01.  The goal was the ninth of the season for Daniels.

            The final two periods and the five-minute overtime session belonged to Kelly and Cameron as they turned aside every shot to preserve the tie and a critical point in the standings.  Kelly finished with 27 saves while Cameron registered 18 stops at the other end.

            The Spartans had two apparent goals waved off during the game.  In the first period, a high-stick call negated a tip-in power-play goal that would have tied the game, and a second-period marker was denied as the whistle blew when the referee lost sight of the puck before it leaked in behind Kelly from a scramble in the crease.

            Southern Maine heads into the final week of the regular season next weekend playing at Plymouth State University on Friday (6:00 p.m.) and hosting Franklin Pierce University on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) for Senior Day.  Castleton State is home for two games next weekend against Norwich University on Friday (7:00 p.m.) and New England College on Saturday (3:00 p.m.). 

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