NORTHFIELD, Vt. – After keeping it close the opening period, the Keene State College women's ice hockey team allowed six goals in the second period, allowing the Cadets pulled away, handing the Owls the first loss in their back-to-back contests at Norwich University.

Records

• Keene State: 6-9 (3-6-0 LEC)
• Norwich: 13-2-0 (9-0-0 LEC)

How it Happened


Owls' goaltender Ai Chung held strong at the beginning of the contest as she made four saves in as many minutes to open the game in the first. KSC was on the attack shortly after, forcing the Cadets' goalie, Madison Brunet to make a pair of saves, before Chung made another pair of saves herself on the other side of the ice for the Owls. 6:44 into the game, KSC was called for their first penalty of the game, and it did not take long for NU to capitalize on the advantage as they scored their first power play goal less than a minute later, taking a 1-0 lead 7:26 into the game. Chung bounced back for the Owls the rest of the period, making 12 more saves the remainder of the period, while her defense helped by blocking three shots. The remainder of the opening period, neither team had an advantage as the Cadets held onto their 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
The flood gates opened for the Cadets in the second period as they scored six goals over the 20-minute period. Norwich tallied a pair of goals very early in in the period as Geena Cookinham opened the scoring in the period with a goal 50 seconds in on a deflection with Breanna Ricker adding another goal off a tip on a 2-on-1 breakaway for the Cadets for the 3-0 lead. Over the next nine minutes, NU continued to apply the pressure on the attack, but Chung bounced back by making four more saves, to go with three shots from the Cadets hitting the post to limit the damage for the moment, while on the other side of the ice. As the contest reached the halfway point of the second period, KSC had their first power play opportunity of the day, but they were unable to capitalize on it, like the Cadets did, with Brunet making a pair of saves to kill the opportunity off. With 5:01 remaining in the second, the Cadets added their fourth goal of the day, coming from Marja Linzbichler and 1:39 later, NU added on another goal as Ricker scored her second of game for the 5-0 lead. Chung bounced back and saved the next three minutes, but the Cadets did not let up as Madalyn Liles put Norwich up 6-0 with 1:25 remaining. With 49 seconds left in the period, the Cadets tacked on their sixth of the period to take a 7-0 lead heading into the intermission.
 
Abby Tanner took over for the Owls in goal for the third period and was tested early as she made five saves over the first 3:08 of the period. 4:22 into the third, the Owls had their second power play opportunity of the day, but they were unable to capitalize on it again with NU killing the penalty off without the Owls recording a shot on goal. Just as the Cadets did in the opening period, they capitalized on the Owls' mistakes with another power play goal, this time 1:13 into the advantage to give NU the 8-0 lead halfway through the third period. Tanner bounced back and saved the next four shots from NU, but the Cadets added two more goals over the next 3:18 on goals from Dani Ammons and Livia Brooks to go up by 10. The rest of the contest Tanner made seven more saves and her defense blocked four more shots to hold NU the remainder of the day.
 
Inside the Crease

• Keene State falls to 0-2 in the all-time series between the two teams.
• Chung made 31 saves in goal over her two periods, while Tanner made 21 saves across her 20 minutes in goal in the third.
• Patrick and Iantosca both led the Owls with three blocked shots apiece, while the Owls had 14 blocked shots total compared to just three from the Cadets.
• Norwich had the advantage on faceoffs on the day, as KSC went 18-for-56 (32%) on draws.
• The Cadets capitalized on both their extra-skater opportunities on the day, while KSC went 0-for-2 on their two chances.

 
Up Next
 
Both teams face off again on short rest as the Owls take on No. 8 Norwich on Saturday, January 17, at 1:00 PM on the road.