Women’s Hockey Holds Off Becker, 4-3

EAST BOSTON – Suffolk women's hockey scored a pair of goals in a five-minute span in the third period to break a 2-all tie and take down Becker, 4-3, Friday night at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4 | Becker 3
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-2-0) | Becker (0-5-0)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
In what was a ping-pong first frame Becker struck first as the period approached the midway point. Rachel Pitcher found Brittany Aiello on Kristen Caporusso's glove side and Becker's senior center flipped it over the Rams pad to give the Hawks a 1-0 edge at the 9:20 minute mark. Elyzabeth Jeffries also assisted on Pitcher's first goal of the season. 

Suffolk's persistence paid off on the powerplay as Becker's Gabby Petrisin was whistled for holding with 3:54 remaining in the first. Madison Duff found Shana Cote on Julia Johnson's left-hand side and the freshman from Broomfield, Colorado, found the back of the net on the opposite side to level the playing field. Jesse Kennedy helped on the game-tying goal as well. 

The tied game was shortlived as Becker potted a puck 33 seconds later. Clare Conway was helped by her linemates Bailey Coons and Claudia Gee to put the visitors in front 2-1, a lead the Hawks would take into the first intermission.  

The Rams came out of the locker room firing on all cylinders and made things interesting at the inside the ninth minute. Izzy Hendry led Tess Adams up ice on the right-hand side. The senior crossed to Cote on the left from just outside the face-off dot. Adams crept in, received the puck back in front of Johnson and flipped in over the netminder to equalize the contest at 2-2.  

Suffolk kept the pressure up, firing Johnson with multiple attempts, but the senior goalie stood tall to keep the 2-all game in store for an exciting third period.  

The go-ahead goal for Suffolk came early in the third period as Adams put away her second score of the evening. This time Adams got help from both Payton Dockus and Cote to give the Rams a 3-2 edge 3:26 in final frame.  

The powerplay trio of Cote, Duff and Kennedy joined forces less than four minutes after Adams' score to give Suffolk some cushion. With the man-up opportunity, Suffolk's second of the day, an almost identical outcome from the first played out as Cote scored at the 7:17 mark with help from Duff and Kennedy to turn the Rams' lead into two, 4-2. 

Becker did not go down without a fight and used a powerplay of its own to its advantage. When Suffolk was sent to the box for too many players on the ice, Payne snuck the puck past Caporusso with just under eight remaining in the third to cut the deficit to one, 4-3. Michaela Martin assisted on the score.  

As time dwindled, Suffolk controlled the puck to limit the Hawks chance and keep them from adding an extra skater by pulling Johnson until the final 29 seconds. The blue-and-gold defense held off the Hawks over the final 30 seconds to hang on for the 4-3 non-conference victory.  

NETMINDER NOTES

• Caporusso earned her third victory in net with a 22-save effort. 
• Johnson put together an impressive 43-save performance.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Suffolk held a commanding advantage in shots, 47-25, and inside the face-off dot, 41-26.
• The Rams went 2-for-2 on the powerplay. 
• Cote led Suffolk's four-goal offense with four points on a pair of strikes and handouts, respectively. 
• Adams had two scores as well with Duff and Kennedy each dishing out two helpers. 
• Dockus and Hendry completed the Rams who recorded a point with one assist apiece.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Becker met for the first time. 
• Cote stretched her point streak to three straight games with the rookie scoring in each of those outings.
• Cote's four points are the most by a single Ram in a game in program history. 
• Cote recorded a personal-best two goals and assists for four points. 
• Adams had her first two-goal game in a Suffolk sweater to match a personal-best two points.
• Adams potted the first-ever powerplay goal in program history. 
• Duff and Kennedy each dished out a personal-best two helpers for a career-best two points.
• Dockus (1a) and Hendry (1a) each matched career-highs in points.

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk makes the trip to Salem State tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 10 for a Military Appreciation, NEHC game. Puck drop at Rockett Arena is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.