PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The women's ice hockey team blanked the Black Bears of Maine, 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at Schneider Arena. Senior defenseman Kathleen Smith (Waterloo, Ontario) scored two goals for the Friars and junior goaltender Danielle Ciarletta (Blaine, Minn.) stopped all 24 shots she faced. With the victory, Providence improves to to 6-6-2 (4-2-1 HOCKEY EAST), while Maine drops to 1-14-2 (0-6-2 HE) on the season.
The Friars jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when, at 2:07, junior Erin Normore (Cambridge, Ont.) blasted a shot from the point past Maine goaltender Genevieve Turgeon for her first goal of the season. Seniors Sarah Feldman (Fall River, Mass.) and Kelli Doolin (Dorchester, Mass.) assisted on the goal. 59 seconds later Smith put the Friars up 2-0 when she picked up a loose puck along the near boards, cut towards the middle and shot one past Turgeon from the high slot area.
Feldman then scored the next Friar goal at 3:49 of the second period. Feldman's linemates Mari Pehkonen (Tampere, Finland) and Katy Beach (Cleveland, Ohio) cycled the puck down low and then found the senior center open in front for the goal. Junior goaltender Danielle Ciarletta (Blaine, Minn.) made a key left-pad save on Maine's Amy Stech just prior to Feldman's goal to keep the Black Bears off the board. After two periods of play, the Friars lead by a score of 3-0.
Smith scored the lone goal of the third period at 1:28, as she took a deflected Jean O'Neill (Strafford, Pa.) shot and beat Turgeon for her second goal of the game from in close. The goal came while the Friars were on the power-play.
In net, Ciarletta finished with 24 saves to earn her second career shut out. Turgeon made 38 saves for the Black Bears.
The Friars return to action Thursday, December 6 versus Yale. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Schneider Arena.