Huskies Beat Vikings 4-1

GORHAM, Maine -- Junior Katie Nolan (Dorchester, Mass.) scored two goals and dealt out an assist to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 4-1 victory over the visiting Salem State University Vikings in a women's New England Hockey Conference game Saturday afternoon at the USM Ice Arena.

The win snapped the Huskies' two-game losing skid, and improved their record to 3-3-1 overall and 3-2-0 in conference play.  The Vikings, a first-year NEHC member, dropped their second straight game to fall to 2-4-0 overall and in NEHC play.

Nolan set up the only goal of the first period at 15:55 with a great individual effort.  The third-year winger carried the puck into the offensive zone stickhandling her way through three defenders before sliding the puck across the goalmouth to rookie Emma Mazzariello (Rutland, Vt.) who deposited it into the open net for her first collegiate goal.  Junior Jill Hannigan (Portland, Maine) also earned an assist on the play.

Southern Maine doubled its advantage early in the second period when an opportunistic Nolan scored an unassisted goal while prone on the ice.  A miscommunication in the Salem State defense caused the puck to slide out to the prone Nolan in the slot and she swept it into the open side for her third marker of the season.

Salem State cut the deficit in half at 6:26 of the third period when junior Kylie Currier's (Middleton, Mass.) pass out from the end board hit a USM defender's stick and went directly across to classmate Amanda Giles (Merrimack, N.H.).  Giles slid the puck into the open side just ahead of USM junior goalie Whitney Padgett (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

Just over three minutes later, USM restored its two-goal advantage as senior Julia Ormsby (Barre, Vt.) took a defensive zone turnover and stuffed it inside the post for an unassisted goal.  Nolan put the final touch on the win with an empty-net goal, assisted by Mazzariello, at 19:32.

Padgett picked up her second win of the season making 22 saves, including 10 in the first period.  Salem State junior goalie Sarah Plourde (Hookset, N.H.) recorded 23 saves, including stopping a penalty shot at 18:27 of the third period.