February 3 , 2007

Castleton gets blanked by Southern Maine 3-0 on the road

Gorham, ME- Freshman Jessica Knight (Alfred, Maine) dished out three assists to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 3-0 win over the Castleton State College Spartans in an ECAC Women's East game Saturday night at the USM Ice Arena. The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Huskies, and lifts their record to 7-12-1 overall and 5-10-0 in the league. Castleton dropped its second straight game to fall to 5-14-0 overall and 2-12-0 in the league.

Freshman defenseman Erica Robertson (St. Albans, Vt.) scored a power-play goal at 9:00 of the first period to give the Huskies the early advantage. Knight started the play along the right wing boards, making a pass to junior Katie Quartuccio (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) at the blue line. Quartuccio laid a pass across ice to Robertson at the left point, and the rookie's shot found its way through a screen of players in front of Spartan junior goalie Vanessa Carter (Summerstown, Ontario).

The Huskies dominated the second period, out-shooting the Spartans 19-2, but only one shot found its way past Carter. Senior Jessica Broccoli (Bethel, Conn.) fired a shot from the right point that change direction along the way and deflected in off the crossbar. Knight and junior Jenna Stanley (Enosburg Falls, Vt.) picked up the assists.

Knight set up the final goal early in the third period, sliding a nifty pass from the right wing circle to junior Amy McNally (East Waterboro, Maine) stationed at the far post. McNally knocked the puck into the open side before Carter could get across for a short-handed tally.

Southern Maine finished the game with a 39-7 advantage in shots on goal. Carter made 36 stops for the Spartans. Senior Jen Arno (Westford, Mass.) stopped all seven shots she saw to post the shutout.

Southern Maine returns to action Sunday afternoon (3:00 p.m.) when it hosts Saint Michael's College. Castleton travels to the University of Massachusetts Boston for a noon game on Sunday. [Box Score]

###Spartans###