DURHAM, N.H. - Kayley Herman (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) made 23 saves to record her first career shutout and Sam Faber (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) scored with 2:01 remaining in regulation to lift the third-ranked University of New Hampshire women's ice hockey team to Sunday afternoon's 1-0 non-conference victory against Colgate University at the Whittemore Center.
UNH, which tallied a 42-23 shot advantage, improved to 2-1-0 overall with all three games coming against ECAC foes. Colgate is 0-2-0 with both losses against Hockey East programs.
With Colgate's Ali Edell and Laura Jansen as well as UNH's Jennifer Hitchcock in the penalty box, the Wildcats called time out at 17:50 of the third period. UNH's Kelly Paton (Woodstock, Ontario) won the ensuing faceoff in the offensive zone and Kacey Bellamy (Westfield, Mass.) moved the puck from deep in the left circle to the high slot, where Martine Garland (Toronto, Ontario) fired a shot that was stopped by Colgate goaltender Lisa Plenderleith. The rebound went to the right post, however, where Faber was positioned and she poked the puck into the net at 17:59 - just one second after Edell's penalty expired - for an even-strength 4-on-4 goal. The goal was Faber's 41st of her career and marked her 99th career point.
Colgate called time out with 59.8 seconds remaining and pulled Plenderleith in favor of an extra skater with 41 seconds remaining. The Raiders recorded just one shot thereafter - from the stick of Mallory Johnston - and Herman turned that aside to preserve the lead.
Plenderleith recorded double digits in saves every period - 14, 17, 10 - to finish with 41 overall.
UNH went 0-for-10 on the power play despite strong puck control and 13 shots during those 10 opportunities. Colgate was 0-for-5 with the skater advantage and recorded just two shots during its extra-skater chances.
In the closing minutes of the first period, a UNH turnover in the neutral zone led to a Sam Hunt shorthanded breakaway, but Herman stood her ground in the crease and denied Hunt as she charged in from the left circle.
Early in the second period, a long Jennifer Hitchcock (LaSalle, Ontario) pass through the neutral zone sent Faber in alone on Plederleith, but the eventual goal scorer was stoned from close range.
Both teams had a dangerous power-play sequence midway through the stanza. For the Raiders, Elin Brown's shot from the slot was blocked but the rebound caromed directly to Katie Stewart in the right circle and Herman had to quickly slide to the post to stop Stewart's bid. Moments later at the other end of the ice, Paton stole the puck in the left circle and found Bellamy alone in the slot. Plenderleith then demonstrated her agility with a quick move to her right to deny the UNH defenseman.
The third period featured a total of eight penalties for 27 minutes, including a major and game misconduct charged to Colgate.
UNH, which was coming off a loss at St. Lawrence last Saturday, still has not lost consecutive games since Oct. 28 & Dec. 1, 2004.
New Hampshire returns to action Oct. 21 (2 p.m.) at home for its Hockey East league opener against Boston University. Tickets for the game are available online at www.unhwildcats.com or by calling 866-WILDCAT. Fans will also be able to watch the game online at UNHwildcats.tv.