Southern Maine Shuts Out Bowdoin 2-0

            GORHAM, Maine -- Senior goalie Whitney Padgett (Eden Prairie, Minn.) stopped 25 shots to lead the University of Southern Maine women 's ice hockey team to a 2-0 shutout of the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears in a non-conference game Tuesday evening at the USM Ice Arena.

            The win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Huskies, and improved their overall mark to 4-7-0.  It was the Huskies' first win over the Polar Bears since January 13, 2015, and just the second in the 28-game history of the series (2-23-3) that dates back to 1999.  The Polar Bears had their three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) snapped by the loss, and fall to 4-3-1 overall.

            Padgett earned her first shutout of the season, and the fifth of her career, with a solid performance.  The senior netminder stopped nine shots in the opening period as Bowdoin had a decided edge in the play.  After posting a clean sheet in the second period with seven more saves, Padgett protected a 1-0 lead until USM got an empty-net goal with 9.1 seconds to play, making nine saves.

            Despite the edge in play going Bowdoin's way in the first period, it was USM that got the only goal of the period at 8:02.  Junior Rylie Binette (Milan, N.H.) deflected a short shot from sophomore Julianne Nelson (Armstrong, B.C.) by Bowdoin sophomore goalie Dani Marquez (Long Beach, Calif.) for her first goal of the season.  Senior Grace Simmons (Buffalo, N.Y.) earned the second assist.

            The Huskies protected their 1-0 lead until the waning seconds when rookie Jordan Colbert (Manomet, Mass.) gained control of the puck in her own end, skated to the red line and slid a shot into the empty net for her first collegiate goal.

            Bowdoin finished the night with a 25-18 advantage in shots on goal.  Marquez made 16 saves before being lifted with 43 seconds to play for the extra attacker.

            Southern Maine is on the road this coming Friday (4:45 p.m.) traveling to Suffolk University for a New England Hockey Conference game.  Bowdoin is off until January 2 when it hosts Trinity College for a non-conference game.

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