NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Sophomore Franny Nicholson (St. Paul, Minn.) scored with 2:08 remaining in regulation to force overtime and senior Rosemarie Giarrusso (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) found the back of the net just 45 seconds into the extra session to lift the Saint Anselm College women's ice hockey team to Saturday afternoon's 4-3 overtime victory against top-ranked Norwich University at Kreitzberg Arena.
The Hawks, who improve to 5-1-1 on the season, including 4-1-1 in ECAC East play, snap Norwich's 44-game ECAC East regular season unbeaten streak. The Cadets drop to 5-1-2, 5-1-0 ECAC East with their first conference loss since Feb. 7, 2010 when they fell to Manhattanville, 7-2.
Sophomore Tiffany Herron (Clinton Township, Mich.), who notched a pair of goals in Friday night's 4-0 win at Saint Michael's College, scored a goal and handed out a pair of assists – including one on the goal that tied the game – to cap her five-point weekend. Junior Courtney Winters (Swampscott, Mass.), who also earned an assist on the game-tying score, tallied a pair of helpers and classmate Jacqueline Bouchie (Belmont, Mass.) recorded a goal and an assist, which came on Giarrusso's game winner.
After trailing 3-1 to start the third period, the Hawks gained the equalizer at the 17:52 mark when Nicholson found the back of the net with a blast from the top of the slot after the puck kicked out to her. Winters and Herron were rewarded with assists on the play. Nicholson recorded her first collegiate goal on the play.
Tori Charron was called for a checking penalty with just 55 seconds left in the third stanza. The Cadets killed that off to get the game to overtime, but a Haley Gibson tripping penalty gave Saint Anselm a 5-on-3 opportunity just 27 seconds into the extra frame.
The Hawks took advantage just 18 seconds later as Bouchie's shot from the blue line deflected directly to the bottom of the right circle where it found the stick of Giarrusso, who beat Norwich goaltender Loren Carrier five-hole for the win. The goal was the team-leading fifth of the season for Giarrusso and the 58th of her career.
Bouchie had opened the scoring 12:25 into the contest when she beat Carrier low to the glove side on the power play to stake the Hawks to a 1-0 on assists from Herron and senior Kathryn Picarello (West Roxbury, Mass.).
Norwich answered with a power-play goal of its own just under five minutes later when Alison Green batted home a rebound off Marie Philip Guay's shot that was stopped by junior goalkeeper Lindsey Brown (Mounds View, Minn.).
The Cadets struck on the power play again with one minute remaining in the opening period to go up 2-1. Kayla Parsons sent a slap shot through traffic and into the back of the net from the blue line off feeds from Guay and Tyne Gove.
The Hawks controlled play in the middle period as they held an 8-6 edge in shots, but the Cadets still found a way to get on the board with just 1:33 left on the clock as Greene and Stephanie Invernizzi set up a Kaycie Anderson goal that stretched the Norwich lead to 3-1.
Saint Anselm kept its momentum into the third period, however, as it owned a 7-2 shot advantage and scored a pair of goals to force overtime. Herron trimmed the deficit to just a goal 45 seconds into the period when she fully extended and dove to knock in a loose rebound past Carrier, who had saved Winters' initial shot on a 2-on-1 break.
Brown made 17 saves for the Hawks, while Carrier stopped 16 shots for the Cadets.
Shots were even at 20 apiece, but the Hawks held a 16-8 advantage in the second, third and overtime periods. Saint Anselm was 2-for-4 on the power play, while Norwich was 2-for-5.
The Hawks return to action Monday, Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. when they travel across the state to take on Franklin Pierce University. The Hawks return to their home ice Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. when they play host to New England College at Thomas F. Sullivan Arena. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
