The USM women’s hockey team handed Colby their third straight loss Tuesday night, winning 4-1 in a non-conference match-up at USM Ice Arena.
Sophomore Kailey Bubier (Auburn) scored two goals for USM and Junior Katie Paradis (Rochester, NH) had the winning goal and two assists.
The score wasn’t a good indicator of the pace of the game, though with both teams tied at one apiece going into the third period.
Bubier got USM on the board first on a power-play goal six minutes into the game. The Huskies were able to hold the lead for nearly two periods until Colby claimed a power-play goal for themselves just before the end of the second period, giving them a little momentum.
Almost ten minutes into the third period, the Huskies pulled ahead as Paradis took a pass from junior Joanna Gaube (Woodstock, CT) and netted USM’s second goal. Six minutes later, Paradis poked the puck from a defender, and Bubier crafted a tricky back-hand shot that slipped past Colby goalie Brianne Wheeler.
USM received some insurance with a little less than four minutes remaining in the game when freshman Erin Banfield (Montpelier, VT) deflected sophomore Nanci Crossman’s (Livonia, MI) shot from the left-hand side that beat Wheeler, making the score 4-1.
USM freshman goalie Jordan Lee (Colorado Springs, CO) got her fifth win for the Huskies, notching 26 saves on the day.
Bubier now leads the Huskies with 11 goals on the season, and Banfield is second with eight. Paradis leads the team with 16 assists.
Despite getting nearly doubled up in the shots category and having four fewer power plays, the Huskies key third period performance helped pull out the victory, snapping their three game losing streak. The win moved them to 5-12-2 overall and gives them a season split over Colby.
The Huskies will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 11 when they will host Castleton State at 7 p.m. and will host New England College the next day at 4 p.m.