Northeastern Blanks Vermont, 3-0

Leah Sulyma made 31 saves in the shutout

Burlington, VT. - Leah Sulyma stopped 31 shots to lead Northeastern to a 3-0 win over Vermont in women's Hockey East action Saturday afternoon at Gutterson Fieldhouse. It was the final home game of the season for the Catamounts.

"It was a very tough loss after a big win last night," said Vermont coach Tim Bothwell whose team topped NU, 4-1, on Friday. "We worked hard but they simply worked harder, longer and smarter than us. We are looking forward to getting back at it next weekend where we will try to get out of the basement up at Maine."

Vermont (6-24-1, 2-15-1) ends its season next weekend at Maine. The Catamounts can finish in seventh place with a pair of wins over the Black Bears.

After a scoreless first period where the shots were even at 15 apiece, Lindsay Berman opened the scoring for the Huskies with a power play goal 1:40 into the middle frame. Vermont had a great chance to tie midway through the stanza but a drive after a faceoff by Brittany Nelson (Shelburne, Vt.) rattled off the goal post. With 2:28 left in the period, Kristi Kehoe gave NU a 2-0 lead rapping home a rebound off her own shot.

Northeastern's Colleen Sanborn closed out the scoring and closed out the Catamounts with an unassisted goal with 58 second left in the third period.

Vermont finished with a narrow, 31-30, advantage in shots on goal but could not crack Sulyma. The Huskies goalie had several solid stops including three in a goalmouth flurry midway through the first period.

Kristen Olychuck (Kelowna, B.C.) was also steady in goal for the Catamounts finishing with 27 saves. Only five penalties were whistled in the hard-fought but clean game. Northeastern (7-22-3, 6-12-1) killed all three Vermont power plays and went 1-for-2 on its own.

The Catamounts wrap up the 2007-08 campaign with a pair of games at Maine, Saturday and Sunday, Mar. 1-2. Both tilts face off at 2:00pm at Alfond Arena.