Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Kelly McCarthy and Averi Curran notched their first career goals inside the final seven minutes to lift the University of New England past Suffolk University, 4-3, as the Nor'easters picked up a fourth-straight Conference of New England (CNE) victory on Tuesday night (Nov. 26) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Moments after the Rams knotted things at 2-all, McCarthy, a senior defender, responded for UNE by stepping into a rebound in the high slot and snapping a wrister into the top-left corner with 6:23 remaining in the 3rd period [Watch]. Then, less than two minutes later, McCarthy flipped it out of the defensive zone and Curran chased it down in the corner before passing diagonally to Hannah Humes entering the zone. While Humes shoveled it towards the far post, Curran stepped in from the end boards to the edge of the crease and redirected it down across the line to make it 4-2 [Watch].

The Rams got one back from Alexia Hill with an extra skater at the 2:00 mark, and had four more chances, but could not find the equalizer before time expired. Three of those opportunities were saved by Kaleigh Laurendeau, and the other was blocked by Eliana Kane.

UNE (4-4, 4-3 CNE) has won all four outings since moving Laurendeau into a starting role. The senior netminder put up 29 saves on the evening, and it's the program's longest win streak since the 2019-20 season. In support, Kane accounted for a game-high four out of team's 17 blocked shots.

The Nor'easters built a 2-0 cushion by the early stages of the 2nd frame after scores by another defender, Mackenzie O'Leary, and Amanda Forziati. In the latter portion of the 1st, the hosts went on a power play and only needed five seconds to set O'Leary up for her first of the season. Lainie Lemieux won the faceoff and Anna O'Neill moved it back to O'Leary, who eluded a Suffolk skater before slotting a wrist shot inside the near post [Watch]. Just over two minutes into the middle stanza, it was O'Leary who denied the Rams from exiting their own zone, handled through the Suffolk defense, and ushered a backhand to Forziati for a tip-in at the right post [Watch].

After UNE fended off a wave of pressure midway through the 2nd, including a point-blank save by Laurendeau [Watch], the visitors began to work their way back into the match. At 16:05 in the 2nd, it was a goal by Katie Newkirk, and then with 8:55 left in the 3rd, Liliana Moose found the back of the net during a player-advantage to tie the score. Bella Schmidt factored in both goals with assists.

For the Rams (3-6, 2-3), Katelyn Michals had 22 stops between the pipes on the night.

UNE returns to the ice in one week at Colby College.