Women’s Hockey Rallies Late, Defeats UNE in Overtime, 3-2

EAST BOSTON – Senior Jesse Kennedy's goal 1:02 into overtime capped a furious comeback to lift Suffolk women's hockey to a 3-2 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) victory over the University of New England Friday evening at Louis E. Porrazzo Memorial Skating Rink.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 3 | University of New England 2
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-0-0, 3-0-0 CCC) | University of New England (2-4-0, 2-3-0 CCC)  

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a scoreless 20 minutes that saw Suffolk commanded the action, the Nor'Easters took charge to start the second. 

A late penalty call that sent Maddy Burton into the box to end the first frame carried into the second, which allowed UNE to skate with a man-up. The visitors captailzied on the opportunity as it lit the lamp 70 seconds out of the first intermission. From the point Eliana Kane floated a pass it then hit Meghan Hamilton's stick and found Piper Desorcie right in front. The sophomore forward lightly tapped the puck past Julia McLellan to grab a 1-0 edge.  

Just 2:30 later the Nor'Easters doubled the distance when Keely Kasputis went on a 2-on-1 with Hamilton. On McLellan's left Kasputis had the puck, tricked a pass to Hamilton, and shot over Suffolk's junior's right shoulder instead to push the gap two a pair, 2-0, at the 3:40 mark. 

Suffolk saw multiple chances from there including its own power play at the midway point. Kaleigh Laurendeau stood up to the test turning aside all nine shots she faced over the final 10 minutes to keep the two-goal lead for UNE as the teams headed to the locker room for the second time. 

The Rams charged back 6:04 into the third period as Madison Ricardo sliced the margin to one. The junior put Suffolk on the board with help from Kennedy and Stephanie Moy. The junior's first goal of the game got the blue-and-gold's offense going at just the right time.  

Things stayed 2-1 Nor'Easters for the next dozen minutes. As the end of regulation loomed, Kasputins was whistled for hooking at the 17:31 minute mark, which gave the Rams some last hope. The power play paid off as Shana Cote punched the game-tying goal past Kaleigh Laurendeau with 1:12 left in regulation. Madison Duff and Sofia Scilipoti assisted on the goal that forced the extra session.

Similar to the opening period, Suffolk was in the driver's seat in overtime. Kennedy peppered Laurendeau with shots on the 3-on-3 and her third got past the Nor'Easter's netminders and boosted the Rams to victory. Burton aied in the game-winning tally that came 62 seconds into OT. 

NETMINDER NOTES

• Hannah Gordon got the win in between the pipes with an 8-save effort after coming in at the start of the third frame. 
• McLellan registered eight stops over the first two periods for Suffolk. 
• Laurendeau had a standout night with a 45-save effort.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Kennedy paced Suffolk's comeback with a two-point performance on a divided stat line with one marker and one set-up. 
• Cote and Ricardo each found the back of the net once. 
• Burton, Duff, Moy and Scilipoti all handed out one helper. 
• Suffolk outshot the Nor'Easters, 48-18. 
• The Rams won the face-off battle, 40-23. 
• The blue-and-gold went 1-for-3 on the power play and killed off 50 percent (1-2) of its penalties.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk remains unbeaten against UNE all-time. 
• The Rams improved to 3-0-0 versus the Nor'Easters. 
• Suffolk and UNE met in Eastie for the first time. 
• The blue-and-gold and UNE played in OT for the first time in the all-time series. 
• Suffolk has netted at least two goals against UNE in all three games in the all-time series. 
• The three goals scored by the Rams are the most against the Nor'Easters all-time. 
• The Rams played their first overtime outing since March 12, 2021 at Becker. 
• Suffolk an overtime win for the first time since defeating New England College, 3-2, in an extra session Jan. 31, 2020. 
• The victory is Suffolk's second OT win in program history. 
• The Rams are now 2-0-6 when playing more than 60 minutes in the record books. 
• Suffolk has scored on the power play at least once in all seven of its games this season. 
• Kennedy put away her third game-winner of the year. 
• Kennedy pushed her point streak to four games. She owns two goals and four assists in the last quarter of games. 
• Burton pushed her point streak to 12 games. In that time, she has 10 goals and eight handouts. 
• Cote extended her point streak to nine games. In that stretch she has 21 points on 10 goals and 11 helpers. 
• Duff has dished out at least one assist in the last six games. 
• Scilipoti has produced at least one point in all seven of Suffolk's games this year. She owns a six-goal, seven-assist stat line. 
• Moy has set-up a goal in back-to-back games. 
• Gordon kept her collegiate record in net perfect.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
Suffolk and UNE are in store for a rematch tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 20 in Biddeford, Maine. Puck drops at 4 p.m. at Harold Alfond Forum.