Statistics

BIDDEFORD, Maine -- The University of New England women's ice hockey team led by a pair of goals through 53 minutes but needed to survive a late push to defeat the University of Southern Maine by a 3-2 margin on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 3) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

UNE had settled into a 2-0 cushion when USM's Gracelyn Koch blocked a shot at the top of the defensive zone and went the distance to split the deficit with 6:42 remaining. The Nor'easters got a fortunate bounce to go back up a couple with 5:21 on the clock, as a hard shot by Jamie DuPont was saved down low by Huskies goalie Maggie Jones, but the rebound came back out so fast that it caromed off a defender and into the cage [Watch].

But just 68 seconds later, the visitors netted another off the stick of Madison Chagnon. USM pulled Jones for an extra skater with 1:52 left, however, could only put one more shot on target, and Kyleigh Matola was there for the stop.

Matola logged a few big saves along the way to her total of 25, including one in the latter portion of the 2nd [Watch] and another midway through the 3rd [Watch]. By carrying the clean sheet deep into the final session, Matola's run of consecutive shutout minutes reached 181:22, good for the second-longest streak in program history (by over 22 minutes).

The rookie netminder was aided by 22 blocked shots from skaters in shooting lanes, of which Hannah Humes and Mackenzie O'Leary each accounted for five. Humes laid out for two, without a stick, during one sequence in the 2nd [Watch].

Lainie Lemieux had put the hosts on the board with just 64 seconds elapsed, on the game's first shot attempt, after a low-angle wrister over the shoulder of Jones [Watch]. Jenna Ruedy assisted the tally, stealing it as USM attempted to clear the defensive end.

That margin held for over 37 minutes, until the Nor'easters dinged Southern Maine's penalty kill for the first time this season. The Huskies had erased 36 consecutive opponent power plays before Jenna Kirch sent a skipping puck towards the cage and Adria Tebo was there on the doorstep to punch home the rebound [Watch]. Amanda Forziati was also credited with an assist on the play. Tebo and Kirch later registered helpers on DuPont's goal.

The win moves UNE to 6-6-0 overall on the year, and completes the season sweep of the Huskies for the first time since 2020-21. Next up for the Nor'easters will be the final non-conference skate of the campaign when Worcester State University comes to town on Thursday (7 p.m.).

Jones wound up with 21 saves for USM (5-7-0).