FINAL SCORE: Providence 5, Vermont 4
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Eight Catamounts registered a point but Providence's Cassidy MacPherson broke a 4-4 tie with 8.1 seconds left as Vermont fell 5-4 at Schneider Arena on Friday night in Game 1 of the Hockey East Quarterfinals. The result gives Providence a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
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Highlights
Senior tri-captain
Sarah Kelly skated in her 141st career game as a Catamount and in doing so, now holds sole possession of the Vermont program record for games played. She was previously tied with former teammate
Dayna Colang, who laced up in 140 contests from 2012-16.
Madison Litchfield recorded 28 saves for the Green and Gold in the setback, while Friars netminder Madison Myers tallied 23 stops.
"Another tough ending against Providence," said head coach
Jim Plumer. "We've got to play 60 minutes tomorrow."
After a scoreless opening period in which Litchfield made 10 stops, the Catamounts struck first in the middle stages of the second stanza.
Ève-Audrey Picard received the puck from
Cassidy Campeau, allowing her to skate between two Friars in the offensive zone. Despite being denied by the right pad of Myers, Campeau trailed Picard during the sequence and lifted the puck into the back of the net, collecting her sixth goal at the 8:09 mark of the period.
Providence countered with the next three goals, including both shorthanded and on the power play, to snag a 3-1 lead. Kate Friesen (power play), Christina Putigna (even strength) and MacPherson (shorthanded) each scored in the sequence.
The Catamounts then responded with a three-goal run of their own as
Daria O'Neill, Picard and
Alyssa Gorecki each lit the lamp. O'Neill first moved the score to 3-2 with her first goal of the season and first since Jan. 30, 2016, finishing a one-timer set up by
Amanda Drobot. The goal came at the 7:40 mark of the third period.
Picard proceeded to tie things up at three-apiece with 9:27 remaining in regulation. Campeau dished to
Saana Valkama on the right wing where she skated in on goal but was turned aside by Myers. Picard grabbed the loose puck and buried the opportunity for the equalizer.
Less than two minutes later, UVM restored its lead on Gorecki's 10th of her sophomore campaign. The power play tally came after Campeau sent a pass between two Friars to Gorecki on the doorstep, where she tucked the puck inside the right post and beyond the outstretched left pad of Myers. The sequence gave the Catamounts a 4-3 advantage with 6:36 left on the clock.
Victoria Andreakos received the second assist on the play.
Unfortunately for the Catamounts, the lead was short-lived as Providence struck at 14:53 with Meaghan Rickard's seventh of the season on help from Putigna and Rachel Rockwell. Rickard received a perfectly-timed pass in the neutral zone and skated in alone, before roofing her shot home.
The game-winner for MacPherson finished a play that saw Madison Sansone feed her in the right circle. She took two steps before wristing the puck into traffic and inside the left post.
Vermont will try to extend the series as well as its season in Game 2 of the series, which will be played Saturday at 2 p.m. from Schneider Arena.
The Windjammer Restaurant and Upper Deck Pub is the presenting sponsor of the 2016-17 women's hockey season
